The Past Comes Calling
by Chaotic Tai
Summary: All the team are in Japan for a special get together. But with that many bad-luck magnets in one place, something's bound to happen Full summary inside. Note not Kai/Tyson pairing, they just happen to be two of the main characters
1. Planning a Sleepover

**AN: **Well, long time no write for me. This is the first story I've written in...quite a while, but it came to me after trying to study for a test so I wrote it down to get it out of my head. Hopefully it works and I don't just get more ideas to follow on from this. Anyway, to anyone who's been waiting on updates for other stories of mine, I greatly apologise but I've just started Univesity, so I haven't had the time to do pre-readings for my course let alone write for fun. I will in my three week break try to get an update done for any stories waiting for one, if I can remember where I was going with it. Otherwise it may be that I start them over again and find a new direction for them to head in. As usual one of my good friends is likely to point me in the right direction with where I _was_ going so it may end up the same.

In any case, many of the characters are likely to be OOC, I so far have only one, maybe two OC's going to show up in this, and I can argue their probable existance in the beyblade world 'til one of us is blue in the face, so please just accept that they're in the story and move on, thank you.

Also please realise that none of my stories seem to happen in the same universe if they're from the same anime, unless theres a sequel/prequel to it. This vaguely means that anything that may have happened concerning my OC may have changed as I've been distracting myself from math work, (ie her profile being completely re-written), but that was my choice and ... I'm still meant to be studying.

Summary: With all the beyblade teams in Japan for an after-the-competition get together, something's bound to happen, but only in an unexpected way. Answering a call meant for someone else, the past starts getting dragged up once more, but this time, who's going to be dragged down with it?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original beyblade characters, any songs, movies or anything you recognise that might be mentioned in here.

* * *

"This is going to be awesome! Having everyone stay here for a month just for the hell of it. I'm surprised Kai managed to talk the Blitzkrieg Boys into coming too." A rowdy bluenette stated, dropping onto the couch with a bowl of popcorn. "Yea," a blonde agreed, reaching out for the popcorn "we rarely get time to spend with everyone, without all the competitiveness of the beyblade competitions coming through." Stuffing a handful into his mouth, the blonde looked around the room. They'd planned to start setting up places for everyone to sleep while they were there, but the plan had...been put on hold in favour of movie watching.

"We really should set up the beds before people start arriving, Tyson." "Oh relax Maxie, Hilary and the Chief will be here soon to help out. We've got plenty of time, no one's actually arriving until tomorrow, and the first ones here will be the Majestics." Tyson replied, turning the sound up slightly. "Yes, but Ray said the White Tigers may arrive today, he was going to call when they landed." Max reasoned, looking over his shoulder at the sound of an opening door.

"He's right Tyson, now get moving and make those beds! Honestly, if everything was left up to you they'd be sleeping outside." A brunette warned, glaring at the duo on the couch. "Nah, not even Tyson's that lazy!" a smaller red-head disagreed, earning himself a fierce glare. "Total there's going to 34 of us here, only six girls including me, so I'll do a room for us. You boys can set up the other rooms." Walking out, the young female left the four boys blinking, wondering just how she'd managed to count how many of them there were so quickly. "So, how are we going to divide everyone up through the rooms?" Kenny asked, opening his trusty laptop to reveal a plan of the dojo.

"I'm fairly certain Hilary's taking the room closest to the bathroom, its bigger than most of the other ones and then they can keep us out of it for a while in the mornings." Tapping away at the keys, he typed in the names of all six girls into the box, leaving the other rooms unlabelled. "Then there's the problem of unfriendliness between teams." "What if we put teams in the same room as one another?" Max suggested, looking at the map. "That'd work for the Majestics, Blitzkrieg Boys and the boys from the Justice Five. I can go in with the All Stars, Ray with the White Tigers, and then you, Tyson, Daichi and Raul can have a room. That leaves the last room for the Barthez Battalion."

The young brunette thought about it for a moment, wondering if there were any likely clashes between the beybladers in their individual teams. None coming to mind, he swiftly typed the names of each team into a room each, giving the largest to the Blitzkrieg Boys, explaining that if Ian came they'd have five people in the same room, and the smallest to the Barthez Battalion for the opposite reason. Looking over the map carefully, Kenny and Max decided it was the best arrangement, and turned to inform Tyson and Daichi of their idea.

The aforementioned duo, however, were busy arguing over the bowl of popcorn which had been tipped all over the floor, making the other duo groan. "Guys!" Max yelled, getting the attention of both, "We've got the room sorted, we just need your help setting them up." Giving each another another glare before turning to the American, they waited for further instructions. "All the rooms apart from the biggest and smallest need to have four beds in them. Kenny and I will take care of those two, you guys can take care of the rest."

"Right." the red-head and bluenette agreed, running out of the room yelling that they'd take care of it and the rooms would be set up in no time. Sighing, Kenny carefully placed Dizzy on the table and followed Max into the hallway, where the blonde was pulling blankets and pillows from a cupboard. Handing three of each to the brunette, he grabbed five himself and headed down the hall to set up the room. It didn't take long, and as the blonde looked around the room he pondered how they'd be able to easily show everyone where they'd be staying for the next month or so. They hadn't decided on an exact time frame just yet, and with Tyson's grandfather away on a tournament for the next two months, he'd said there were no problems with everyone staying that long.

Heading back to the hallway, he noticed the cupboard was empty of blankets and decided to have a look around the other rooms, to make sure they'd been set up properly. Generally, when a task like that was done the hyperactive duo would rush out and do it quickly, although it was normally done half-assed. Opening the nearest door, he looked around to see all the temporary beds neatly done, and smiled. Maybe they weren't doing it in such a rush this time. The sound of a phone ringing reached Max's ears, and he looked down the hall. Tyson soon darted into the kitchen, answering the phone as he slid to a halt in front of the bench.

"Ray! You're already in town?" he heard the loud teen state, probably deafening the neko-jin on the other end of the line. Silence followed for a few moments, followed by "Okay, we'll see you soon then!" The phone was hung up, and the beyblade world champion came out of the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear. "They're on the bus on their way here now!" he informed the blonde, still smiling. "This month is going to be a heap of fun!"

* * *

An hour later, a knock sounded on the door, causing the bluenette who'd been happily watching television with the rest of his guests to rush to the door. Skidding to a halt in front of it, he slid it open to reveal five catlike people. "Ray! You guys made it!" he yelled, hugging the aforementioned neko-jin. "Your room's all set up, I'll show you guys where you're sleeping." He turned to the pink haired female of the group, still grinning. "Mariah, Hilary set up a room for the girls next to the bathroom, at the end of the hall." Nodding, the young woman brushed past her team-mates into the house and followed the directions, the brunette who'd set up the room meeting up with her and showing her in. Already they were talking happily about the time all the teams would spend together, and of course, the shopping they could do.

"Well at least she won't get bored." Ray stated, smirking as he and the rest of his team entered the dojo, following the boy in front of them. Both Ray and Lee walked behind the rest of their team, talking quietly in Chinese about something one had just noticed. Both males' hair was barely two inches off the floor, although neither seemed highly concerned by this fact. Instead they seemed almost oblivious to the fact, although their walking behind the rest of the team may've been an indication that it was starting to become a problem. Sliding open another door, Tyson revealed a room with four temporary beds, motioning for the four neko-jin to follow him inside. "This is where you guys can stay. The All Stars will be across the hall, and the Blitzkrieg Boys will be next door.

"Everyone else should be arriving tomorrow, so feel free to make yourselves at home. Kenny, Max, Daichi and me are watching a movie in the lounge, if you guys want to come join us when you're settled." He'd barely finished the sentence when the phone began to ring, making the teen frown. "Who the hell would be calling?" he muttered, leaving the white tigers to unpack as he walked to the phone. "Hello?" _"Tyson? It's Tala. We won't be able to make it to Japan tomorrow, something urgent has come up. It shouldn't take more than two days to sort." _The blue haired teen stood blinking for a moment, slowly processing the information. _"At latest we should be there late Friday. I'll call if it's going to take much longer than that." _"Okay, thanks for letting me know." the usually loud male stated slowly, more than confused. "I'll see you then."

* * *

Over in Russia, a grim-faced redhead hung up the phone, turning his attention back to the television screen nearby. "Ian, how long has she been using that name?" His icy blue eyes remained fixated on the screen, as a small purple haired boy tapped away at a keyboard. "From the looks of things, at least four years. There's a few on-line news articles with pictures of her from four years ago, and that's the name associated with them." On the opposite side of the room, another teen with two-toned hair slammed his fist into the wall, his red eyes, narrowed. "How the hell did she manage to get around so easily without being noticed by any of us? We've had a database search running since the abbey's collapse."

"We're all as confused as you Kai." a lavender haired male stated, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hell, I set up four of those searches myself, one of them for that exact name. She must've hacked the system to get around us." "Hell knows she's got the same computer knowledge as any of us, if not more." the taller blonde stated. He un-muted the T.V, allowing them to hear what was being said. _"...have said she'll be heading to America briefly before Japan, where it's been reported she'll be staying for at least two weeks." _Flicking it off, the five teens stood in silence, thinking about that small piece of information. "So, what do we do about this?" Ian asked, looking at the older members of the group. "She's coming to Japan anyway, so there's no point in chasing her over to America. What we do need to do is figure out why she's making herself so known right now, and see if we can get her back." the red head stated, receiving nods from the rest of his team.

"She's doing something to be noticed, it might not be us she wants to notice her but she has our attention." Kai muttered, his eyes fixed on a picture sitting just above the TV on a shelf. "Even after what happened, she's still one of us, and I don't think any of us want to lose her again." The rest of the room nodded and headed off in their own direction, each already knowing just what they needed to do to help out. Only Ian remained in the room, tapping away quickly at the keys, either searching or documenting something very important. After several more taps, he closed the laptop and headed out to pack. They had something important to do, other than go and waste a month with the rest of the world class beybladers.

* * *

"Did he say what had come up?" the blonde asked, walking slowly out of the lounge which had just been invaded by the girls. Kenny and Daichi followed Tyson just as slowly, just in front of Max, as all four headed to the room the White Tigers were staying in. A sudden squeal and yells of excitement soon erupted in the room behind them, making most of them jump. Being closest to the back of the group, Max turned to see what had them so excited. Barely visible on the screen from where he was standing, was a young woman with lightly tanned skin and ebony black hair. Her eyes were covered by a pair of dark glasses, and only her shirt was visible. The red and white lilies stood out brightly against the dark blue of the material, but what stuck with the American was who she was.

Soon the image was replaced by one of a bodyguard, as the young woman disappeared from the camera's sight. "I can't believe she's coming to Japan!" Hilary stated happily, flicking quickly to another news channel to catch the same story yet again. "I don't get what they're so excited about." the small redhead grumbled, frowning at the screen. "Who was that?" Shushing the wild boy before the girls could hear him, they all swiftly moved to the room Ray, Lee, Kevin and Gary were inhabiting for the time being. Sliding the door open just as another squeal sounded, they pushed Daichi inside and shut the door.

Sliding down to the floor, Max let out a small sigh, closing his eyes. "So, what teen pop-sensation is coming to town this time?" a voice growled, eyes closed as he attempted to meditate on his bed. "Not a pop sensation." Tyson stated, leaning against the door. "Victoria Kowalski." All four neko-jin looked at the bluenette seriously, Lee even opening his amber eyes to look at the boy. Seeing that he was serious, the majority of the four bit their tongues, holding in whatever remarks they would've otherwise made if Daichi were out of the room. Once more, the jungle-boy was confused as to their reactions, frowning at the other 7 occupants of the room. "I don't get it. Who is she?"

Ray, being able to regain his composure a little faster than the rest of the room answered, in what was probably the only way anyone of the group could've without being distracted. "She's the heiress to a multi-billion dollar Polish empire, that has ties to most of the empires throughout Europe and Asia. Aside from being one of the most beautiful girls to ever walk this planet, she also has an incredible singing voice." "You wouldn't pick it from the photos and films that the media catches," Kevin finished, "they only ever see her in the same travel clothes. You ever see her in person and you'll know why everyone's so excited."

"You've got to wonder why she's coming to Japan though." Kenny stated, tapping away on Dizzy's keys. "It's been reported that her father's going to Brazil on a business trip, and normally she's with him on those trips." The room sat quietly, trying to concentrate on the conundrum, although it appeared most of them were failing quite horribly. However, a thought struck Daichi as the rest of the room sat, squirming awkwardly as they dealt with their thoughts. "You said that I'd only see why everyone's so excited if I see her in person. When did you guys see her?"

The rest of the room remained silent. Trying to explain _that_ occurrence could be extremely awkward for all of them...

* * *

Bit of a random ending, I must admit, but it gives me a starting point to the next chapter. And in the mean time you can figure out how they met her.

Oh and I'mma be a review whore, review and I'll update sooner


	2. Late Arrivals

**Tai: **Wow look, second update for the day. I'm feeling fine, just thought I might just get some stories updated while I'm home as an early Christmas present to you all. Don't get used to this updating thing, nyeh!

Disclaimer: Don't own it if you know it.

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"_I'm still not sure that allowing the media to get wind of that information was quite the best idea. Those three are still uncomfortable with the idea of large numbers of people knowing where you're going." _A burly brunette stated quietly, having switched to Russian to speak privately with the ebony haired girl. _"They were nervous enough about going to Japan, the media knowing too isn't going to help anything." "They're big boys, they'll get over it. Besides, they're supposed to work around my requests and desires, not the other way around. If they had their way I'd be locked in a sealed box allowed out only for food, bathing and sunlight." _

Rolling her amber eyes, she glanced over at the trio also, who were shifting uncomfortably under their gazes. _"You were hired with full knowledge of where I came from and what I'm capable of, so you're fine with a lot more than they are and don't have to ask questions. I need them to accept things and not ask questions." "They still feel like they failed on that motel room incident." _Smirking, she let out a small sigh before switching back to English; a language all four of the bodyguards understood.

"Frank and I were just discussing accommodation while we're in Japan, and the boys who made their way into my room just as I finished changing. From what I remember they're athletes or part of some competition thing; there's no reason we can't do a publicity event for whatever thing supports them." She smiled, earning a small frown from the older male. "You got their names after that incident, right?" A few moments of uncomfortable muttering and squirming preceded a yes from the blonde, although he still seemed hesitant on the idea. "Joey, it's not your fault these two wandered off and let the doors to the suite open and a random group of teenage males thought it was a common area meaning my room could be a kitchen. Just let it go already."

Letting out a chuckle at the comment, the brunette sighed lightly. "Victoria's right; you can't let that sort of thing eat at you. It'll haunt you and that doesn't help any when you're trying to protect this pain in the ass." Receiving a clip around the ear, he grinned. "This pain in the ass just happens to be the one in charge of paying you, so watch it. Now if you don't mind I'm going to sleep." Standing from her somewhat constricting seat, the tanned dark haired girl headed toward the bedroom at the back of the plane. The trip to America wasn't exactly short, but it was a good time to sleep.

* * *

"Kai! Tala! You guys are finally here!" an excited bluenette stated, grinning at five, somewhat weary Russians. "Yea. Sorry we were held up. Something…urgent came up." The redhead stated, brushing past the younger teen. Frowning after the group, he called out where they'd be staying, unsurprised when he received no reply. _"We can't tell them we know her from our past; they'll ask questions and Tyson's never been one for keeping his mouth shut." _Tala stated quietly, earning a nod from the tall blonde Russian. _"He's right; there's nothing we can say that doesn't require a lot of explanation. If we run into her then we run into her, and we'll take it from there." _He responded, ignoring the annoyed look he received from their host as he entered the room.

"_At least there's enough fans of hers here that there's a reason for us to tag along to the publicity thing." _Kai agreed, dropping his bag next to the only bed left vacant. "So what are the plans for the rest of the day?" he asked, turning to Tyson as he switched back to English. The Japanese teen was clearly annoyed with the group speaking Russian around him. "Some friendly training with everyone else. Mr Dickinson's mentioned a charity tournament within the next couple of weeks; he said something about getting some famous people to participate."

Sharing a look, the five Russians all realised they'd though of the same thing; it was likely to be the girl they were searching for. "Sounds good. I'm guessing we were the last to arrive?" Tala stated, dropping to sit on the ground. All five had had little sleep over the past few days, but they'd still remembered to pack their beyblade gear. "Kai! Tala! You're all here finally." The hyperactive blonde was more than happy to see the Russians, more so Kai. They had been a close team a few years ago.

Kai nodded, retrieving his blade and launcher from his bag. "We had a few things to sort at home first, but we're here." The blonde looked about ready to hug the dual haired Russian, but somehow managed to restrain himself. It only took a glance from the older male for the blonde to give in and hug all five Russians; who weren't too happy but welcoming enough to return the embrace briefly. "Are you guys going to come to the charity event?" "There's no reason for us not to." Tala stated, his wolfish smirk making the American teen grin happily.

All of the room's occupants jumped at the sound of a ringing cellphone; four of the Russian's turning to the crimson eyed male. Retrieving the device from his pocket, he glanced at the front screen, frowning slightly at the unfamiliar number. "Hello?"

'_Kai-kun, long time no see. Or hear from.' _

"_You're not kidding. Are you the one who planned the charity event?"_

"_Kai? Who is it?" _Tala asked, frowning at the younger Russian. _"Our darling little sister."_

'_Who happens to know her big brothers are in Japan also and can't wait to see them. How's about coming to dinner tomorrow night?'_

"_All of us or just the five of us?"_

'_All of you of course. I sort of figured you'd be the easiest one to contact about it, but if there's someone else I should talk to then I'll do that, neh nii-san?'_

"_No, but the five of us would like to talk to you alone."_

"Who's he talking to?" Max asked curiously, turning to some of the older Russians. None of them answered, listening closely to both sides of the conversation.

'You should know by now that I can't be left alone. My dear father might lose me. And just so you know, Frank's listening in on the conversation; he's the only other one here who speaks Russian. He's got no problems with meeting up with just the five of you, but dinner with the competitors for the charity event might be nice first.'

"Fine. When and where?"

'Vincent's Pizzeria, tomorrow night say six? We can sort out another meeting after dinner. Ciao nii-san.'

With that, the line went dead, the dual toned Russian snapping the phone shut. "We've all been invited to dinner tomorrow night." He stated, avoiding eye contact with the rest of his team. Six tomorrow night at Vincet's Pizzeria." "When you say everyone…" Max started, looking at the male. "I mean everyone; all of the teams present here." He stated, glancing briefly at Tala.

"I think we've spent enough time in here; we should get outside and do some training." Tala stated, brushing past most of his teammates towards the door. Nods from both Tyson and Max agreed with him, heading out the door before the Russians. Tala waited for the rest of the team to leave before turning to Kai. "We'll talk about this later tonight when everyone's asleep. Tyson and Max don't seem to like having to listen to conversations they can't understand."

"No one does, Tala."


	3. Concerns and Questions

Tai: Well I'm back at it, sort of. University is currently closed due to a fairly large earthquake in the area so I'm back home unti lthings are cleared as safe. I've arleady completed at least one story I gad outstanding, and although I would like to update my KibaNeji one To Be Alone I have chapters already written that are on a harddrive back in my hall of residence in said city. I'm planning to write them again, so you'll have to wait until I get back there to have an update on that. The other one however I will try and finish while I'm home.

Disclaimer: Don't own it if you know it, duh :P

Helpful tips:

_"Another language (ie Russian, Chinese, French, Italian, etc)"  
_'Thinking'  
"Talking normally (ie english)

* * *

Not a sound could be heard in the all too quiet house, though that didn't mean that everyone was sleeping. In fact, most of the foreign teams were awake, waiting just long enough for some indication that everyone was asleep before they began to quietly speak. Soon enough the sounds of snoring filled the house, as a certain bluenette and his red-haired companion hit their 'deep sleep' mode.

"_Well that noise should be enough to drown out anything but shouting." _Bryan grinned as he and his fellow Russians gathered together in the middle of the room, eager to talk, albeit quietly, about the phone call earlier in the day.

"_So what did she actually say, Kai?" _the redheaded leader of their team asked, never one to beat around the bush on any occasion. _"I'm sure you would've liked to keep talking to her but with the limited time you had for that conversation, surely she said something interesting?"_

"_Yes, she agreed to meeting with just the five of us at some later date; only one of her bodyguards speaks Russian; the head one from the sounds of things, and he's agreed to it." _The dual haired teen let out a sigh, brushing a hand quickly through his hair. "_We'll sort out when and where tomorrow at the pizza evening that she's throwing for us all. She's gone back to calling us all 'nii-san' from the sounds of things too."_

Spencer thought about the new information for a moment before adding in his own opinion, the normally stoic and emotionless blonde frowning at the lack of details. _"It seems highly unusual that she'd leave everything so…unclear. She always preferred to sort details out as soon as possible."_

"_Her new 'father' doesn't want her left alone because he thinks she'll still try and take off. I doubt that she'd still try to after seven years; she would've given her best shot guards or no in the first three and be out of ideas on that one now." _The lavender haired teen sighed, dropping back onto his bed. _"So what are we going to do; try and get her back?"_

"_We'd all like that Bry, but it might not be the right thing for anyone anymore…"_

Allowing an almost collective sigh to leave them, all five Russians shuffled across the dark room and crawled into their beds, no happier with the information they had then they were a few hours ago.

* * *

"_They're up to something; I don't know what but I don't like it one bit." _A distrustful neko-jin growled, rolling his eyes as Ray attempted to quieten him somewhat. The rest of the White Tigers were asleep, save for the two black haired males; Lee had outright refused to go to sleep, and once sounds of Tyson's snoring had reached him he'd decided to awaken Ray, who wasn't quite so happy with the arrangement. Mainly because he was tired and didn't want to be woken up.

"_And what makes you say that Lee? You've got no proof that they're planning anything." _The team captain yawned, lying back down onto his bed. _"And don't try to tell me that being late and that phone call earlier should be proof enough."_

"_How many people here get a 5 minute phone call that they can take in a language no one else understands, have their team completely ignore any questions on who they're talking to and only tell us at the end of said call that we're all invited out for tea?" _Lee hissed back, nails digging into his arms as he paced the room. _"And how can you not find it weird that the always punctual Blitzkrieg Boys were the last ones to turn up due to some unforeseen problem at home? Hell they looked like they hadn't slept in days when they arrived!"_

"_So your proof is that they were late due to a problem at home and a phone call they answered in Russian in front of everyone. You ever think that neither of those things could've been avoided? What if the person on the other end of phone only spoke Russian and was passing along a message or something?" _Ray countered, letting out a yawn. _"Just drop it and get some sleep Lee; I'll ask Kai about it later."_

"_I still don't like it."_

* * *

"Have you guys noticed anything weird since the Blitzkrieg boys showed up this morning?" a brunette asked the other girls in the room as she slid the door shut, having checked the hall to ensure no one else was up and about, and therefore likely to overhear them. She'd heard some unusual mutterings from other rooms and simply put it down to sleep talking, and decided it was safe to talk.

"You mean despite the fact that they were late and took a phone call in Russian that ended with us all being invited to dinner tomorrow night?" Mariah asked curiously, brushing her hair. "Ray and Lee have been acting strange lately two but neither of them will tell me why."

"Maybe there's something in the water?" Matilda asked quietly, looking at her hands. "I mean…Miguel's been worried about something, and from what I've seen of the other teams…at least one from every team is worried about something."

Tapping away at her laptop, the red-haired girl began writing up a document. "So we have Ray, Lee, Miguel, Rick and all of the Blitzkrieg Boys acting strangely. Who else?"

"Raul's acting the same as normal, and neither Tyson, Kenny nor Daichi are acting weird. That green haired dude from the Majestics has been a bit strange though, I've seen his teammates asking him what's wrong." The ex-circus performer stated, earning nods from most of the other girls.

"Mystel's been acting a bit strange too, and I'm not sure if you'd call it strange but Brooklyn's been talking to people more and making a more conscious effort to be involved in things. Normally he finds everything boring because he already knows whats going to happen, but maybe he doesn't anymore?" Ming Ming added as most of the girls began thinking about the new information.

"So Mystel, Oliver, Ray, Lee, Miguel, Rick, maybe Brooklyn and all five members of the Russian team." Emily concluded, looking around the room as the girls thought about the list. "It seems unlikely that what they're all worried about is related, though we could assume that it is and go from there. Assuming also that the delay in the Blitzkrieg Boys' arrival and the phone call earlier are related, things seem to be getting weird rather fast."

"Do any of you remember what happened before the boys started acting strangely?" the brunette questioned, looking at the other girls. "I mean with the Majestics and Blitzkrieg Boys we won't know when or why, but if everything is related then maybe knowing when they started being strange will be of some use."

"That's a fair point Hilary." Emily agreed as she started to think, wondering when she first noticed Rick acting strangely.

"Well, I know Ray and Lee started acting weird after a meeting with some of the village leaders. They wouldn't tell the rest of us what it was about afterwards, and since then anytime they get a chance they're talking about something quietly between them. That was about two weeks ago, just after Ray's birthday." The dark pink haired girl stated, looking at the other girls, who were all clearly trying to remember when things had gone awry.

"Miguel started acting strangely last week…he went out to look at beyblade parts and do some shopping, but he was gone for a few hours and came back without anything he went to get. He's been acting weird since and won't talk to me about it..." the light pink haired girl stated meekly, as Emily began typing away on her laptop.

"Mystel went off to Egypt a little while ago for a break from the rest of us; we got a call from him three weeks ago and he seemed fine and everything. Then two weeks ago he called us again, just before he was due to come home, and he sounded weird, like he was worried about something." Ming Ming stated, undoing her hair finally. "And Brooklyn's started two days before we came here; he started being all…non-Brooklyn-ey."

"Rick was acting strange about a week and a half ago – he's not meant to but he still goes out street blading, which is where I'm guessing he went this time. When he came back he looked like he'd been roughed up a bit – like how some of the guys end up after a really intense beybattle. He wouldn't talk about it, but he still has his blade so I don't think he lost. He's been worse than ever to deal with since, like his attitude just doubled." Emily concluded, all the girls more confused than they had been.

"So the longest any of them have been acting like this is about two weeks, which is when Mystel, Lee and Ray started acting weird?" Julia concluded, earning a nod from the female teammates of the aforementioned males.

"Then Rick about 10 days ago, with both Miguel and Brooklyn acting weird about a week ago?" The brunette finished, earning a series of nods from the girls. "Tala called five days ago to say they'd be turning up late, so that could be put as their weird point. They're not normally late for anything."

"So that leaves Oliver of the Majestics." Emily concluded, typing a question mark next to the green haired male's name. "From what I've heard about his teammates, Enrique would be the easiest one to get information about Oliver from, and he's an enormous flirt."

"Well then, we know what we need to do tomorrow. We'll get the information we need from Enrique and discuss more tomorrow."


	4. Meetings

Tai: Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me! Hehe, yes I'm random but if I wasn't you wouldn't be reading my stories now would you? Well, 14th March in NZ so it's my birthday, and as a present to all my wonderful readers most of you get story updates. Keyword being most. There is one I know I'm not updating, because I don't have a chapter for it xD

Anyways, enjoy my birthday people!

Disclaimer: Despite it being her birthday, Tai still doesn't own beyblade or anything else you may recognise.

* * *

The following day training went without a hitch; no one seemed eager to complain about the almost brutal training regime. All of them, it appeared, found it incredibly challenging and a good way to distract themselves from other things, although the girls still had their own plan to carry out. As they finally broke for lunch, the Italian blonde found himself surrounded by the female bladers, unable to follow his teammates towards the provided meal.

"Enrique, we just wanted to have a little word with you." Ming Ming all but purred, something that simultaneously drew the European's interest and made his blood run cold. "You don't mind wait a little for lunch, do you?"

Physically surrounded by the girls, and never one to pass up an opportunity such as this, he gave a small shrug. "Sure, why not. What did you lovely ladies need to talk to me about?" Grinning at them, he was unnerved as Julia and Mariah grinned back, sidling up rather close to him.

Wrapping an arm around the male's waist, the dual haired woman batted her eyes a couple of times before speaking. "We were just wondering when Olly stopped being so…cheerful…" As one of her fingers began tracing his jawline, Enrique's focus on everything else all but vanished.

"You mean when he started acting weirdly?" the blonde grinned, his gaze locked on the green eyes of the ex-performer. Earning a small noise of agreement from the woman he began to think, although it didn't take him long to give an answer. "Almost three weeks ago; I went to visit him in France; he was normal the day I arrived and acting weird the next day."

"I'm guessing you have _some_ idea what caused it, hmm?"

"Well, yeah. He was catching up with an old friend he suddenly got an email from." The blonde shrugged, placing a finger under Julia's chin and tilting her chin up slightly, having finally decided to start flirting back. "They were going out to dinner. Speaking of, how about the two of us do dinner sometime and get to know each other a little better?"

Unable to prevent herself from blushing, she sent a quick glance to the other girls to get them to clear out before agreeing; the Italian flirt promising to take the girl shopping for something to wear beforehand also.

* * *

"It's a shame he couldn't give us the name of that friend." Mariah muttered to the other girls as they sat in a small group, minus Julia who'd opted to eat lunch alone with her new _boyfriend_. "At least we know how quickly whatever it is has been happening now."

"I can't think of anything that could affect so many of them that can happen in as little as a few hours or overnight." Hilary mumbled, wary that their conversational motives may be questioned if they were overheard by some of the nosier males.

"Rick's been a nightmare to train with, and the only thing that makes him like that is when he loses a beybattle. I doubt Mystel, Miguel, Ray, Oliver and Lee are as easily affected by those sorts of things. Lee and Ray had a meeting within your village that did it for them, but they won't tell you anything about that meeting. Mystel and Miguel just seemed to change suddenly, same with Brooklyn." Emily concluded, earning nods from the other girls.

"Let's not forget the Blitzkrieg Boys. They're not easy ones to understand but things happen in an order and on time with them; almost like clockwork. I've been watching them since we started and they don't even communicate verbally when it comes to switching training partners. It's kinda creepy if you ask me." The green haired girl stated. "I just thought of something though; Mystel is supposedly the best offensive blader in the world; what if someone took him down using an attack better than his own that's making him lose confidence in his own blading ability?"

"Then what about the others? I mean…it's not like many of the others would just give in because one person beat them with a new technique…unless someone beat them with their own." Matilda stated quietly, earning frowns from most of the girls. "Like if someone managed to us Mystel's 360 degree attack better than him or something."

"That still doesn't account for Ray, Lee or Oliver. The others might be shifted by something like that, but they just had meetings." Mariah countered, sending the group into silence. None of the group seemed eager to speak up against the idea that it wasn't all related, but most of them were thinking it.

"All right! Let's get back to training and work up an appetite for free pizza tonight!" Tyson shouted, already rushing off to get back to his practicing. Daichi was close on his heels, their insane amount of energy make most of the other males laugh.

As all the boys headed off to return to training, Julia returned to join the girls, Enrique having gone with his teammates. "I'm fairly certain everything is connected in some way; he doesn't know who Oliver went to meet but apparently there aren't many people he'd meet alone. Not with another of the Majestics staying as a guest anyway."

"We'll discuss and come up theories later I think; right now we all need to get back to training before they decide we can't come to dinner!" Mariah stated, jumping up to follow after the boys.

* * *

"So, how are we meant to get to this pizza place?" the brunette girl asked as she finished tidying her hair, the whole group finally ready to go after the girls had taken more than an hour to prepare themselves. "Are we meant to walk there? Where is this place anyway?"

"I've been looking it up online; it's on the other side of town." Kenny stated, earning swift round of moaning and complaining from the group of beybladers. A knock on the door quickly silenced them, although none moved to answer it. Instead they looked amongst the group to see who was missing, forcing Kai to let out a sigh and greet the visitor himself.

"My apologies for the disruption, but I was sent with a bus to transport a group of international beybladers to a pre-arranged dinner and told this is the address I could find them at." A rather large blonde stated leaving the dual haired male wondering if he was currently face to face with a relative of Spencer's.

"You're in the right place; the brat pack is inside. You may want to block your ears." Smirking as the confused male never the less did as he was told. "Shut up you lot and get your asses outside! We need a headcount now!" the slender Russian barked loudly, dragging the large male away from the door.

Seconds later the teams all rushed outside and stood in their teams, allowing for an easier time counting everyone. "Right, that's everyone. Follow this guy; he's got a bus to take us to dinner."

"Ah…all except the team known as the Blitzkrieg Boys I'm afraid; there's a car to escort the five of you to the venue. We were unable to find a bus to hold more than 30 people on such short notice." The blonde explained, earning a small shrug from the blue haired Russian.

Following the large blonde out the gate, the Russians piled into the black car indicated by the male while the rest of the bladers piled onto the bus. Once all five were inside the car the door was shut and began to move off, the males all a little bewildered by it all.

"_My apologies gentlemen, however she asked that I do everything possible to ensure you arrive before your cohorts to allow time for a short conversation and planning your next rendezvous."_

"_You would be Frank, I assume?" _Tala responded, looking at the driver.

"_Indeed; your friend will be taking a fairly long detour before reaching the restaurant, but regardless there won't be much time for you to talk to her. She's asked that you refrain from being too familiar with her in the company of others, and in return she will answer almost all your questions."_

"_Almost all?" _Bryan asked with a frown, his question echoed by the remaining members of the team. _"What do you count as almost all? All the ones she feels like answering or is there a limit to how many she'll answer?"_

"_I believe she meant that she will answer within a given range of reason. If she deems it too personal or to be none of your business I highly doubt she'll answer. If anything she's more likely to simply up and leave if you press that matter too much." _

The car finally pulled to a stop, allowing the group to pile out. _"She's inside waiting for you, and no doubt you'll hear when the others arrive. Anything that can't wait until your next meeting you would be best to ask first."_

"_I have one question for you. Why did you choose to speak to us in Russian?" _Spencer questioned, something that hadn't seemed to bother any the others.

"_We believe the car may be bugged by the Japanese media. The ones responsible are too lazy to figure out what language we're speaking and tend to just stick to what's said in Japanese or English. One of the perks of knowing Russian, French, Italian and Spanish I suppose."_

Satisfied with the response the group headed inside, unsurprised to see a tan ebony haired woman playing cards with another large male and one smaller, more slender man. "Got any threes?" "Go fish."

"_I really hope there isn't a fish tank at your hotel."_ Bryan smirked, making the two men jump, something that clearly wasn't very bodyguard like. The movement made both Kai and Tala smirk as the girl jumped to her feet and pounced upon the lavender haired Russian. Somehow the slender male kept his balance and returned the embrace briefly, allowing her to quickly hug all five of them.

"_I'm going to guess you've already been told about the lazy media, so anything you need to say can wait until our next meeting alone. I'll send the car to pick you up tomorrow at 7pm, wear something tidy and try to behave yourselves, please." _she told the males, yawning slightly. _"I have a feeling this place was bugged, and since everyone knows I'm here just speaking another language isn't safe enough."_

"Your friends aren't far off are they? The chef wanted to start on making dinner as soon as he could in case everyone was starving when they arrived." Tori smiled, switching back to English suddenly.

Sharing a look, the Russians held in a collective sigh at the sudden change in attitude. "They shouldn't be far off, the bus left about the same time as we did." Tala replied, moving to sit at the table. "He could probably start cooking; they'll eat anything if they're hungry enough."

* * *

"The hell did this guy learn to drive?" Mariah screamed, her hands clutching the seat in front of her as they sped around another corner, all aboard certain the bus was on two wheels as it turned onto the next street.

"I don't care if it takes all night to get there; let me off and I'll walk!" Hillary yelled in agreement, screaming as the driver indicated to go around yet another corner. At the front of the bus near the driver sat the man who'd approached the house to collect them, seemingly unconcerned and unmoved as they slid around the next corner, all beybladers on board grabbing the seats in front of them as though they were the only way to stay alive.

Simultaneous yells went up from two of the blonde males on board as they lost their respective grips on the chairs, thrown to the other side of the bus as they sped around the corner on a lean. As the vehicle righted itself both blondes found themselves making surprisingly comfortable landings, although the four grunts that sounded made it clear it wasn't on empty space.

"You okay, Max?" a tan, silver haired male asked gently, one arm wrapped tightly around the blonde's waist to hold his slender frame against the ex-Bega blader. The young blonde's head rested gently against the well-muscled chest, a light blush covering his cheeks.

"Ah…yea…I'm fine. Thanks…Garland." The blonde muttered in response, his blush darkening as the blader's grip tightened at the next corner, keeping him firmly in place. Looking back towards the other side of the bus where he had been sitting, he found his light blue eyes meeting a very similar pair, their owner in a similar situation.

However, instead of the Egyptian being held firmly against Lee's chest, the blonde was instead clinging to the neko-jins shirt for dear life, caught loosely between the well-muscled arms. The brakes slammed on suddenly, both blondes becoming pinned against the back of seats by their saviours.

"We're here, everybody off." The large blonde at the front stated, ignoring the moans and whimpers of pain and fear that the group emitted as they dismounted the bus, Garland and Lee taking a moment longer than necessary to release their captive blondes, identical blushes covering their cheeks as they finally headed inside.

As the group finished piling into the restaurant and looked around, there seemed to be an almost simultaneous drop of jaws as all took in the sight before them. The Blitzkrieg Boys were seated around a table with a pack of cards playing some sort of game, with none other than-

"Oh my god! Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" the chorus of high pitched exclamations seemed to snap the rest of the group from their daze and startled the group of six from their card game, the ebony haired woman halfway through grabbing a card from Spencer's hand.

"Uh…hi?" she stated meekly, wincing as a chorus of screams left the girls.

In a stark contrast several of the males had gone bright red and were looking everywhere but at the girl, clearly not comfortable about the situation. The remainder ignored the blushing group and stared open-mouthed at the girl before Rick finally managed to speak. "You're…you're...you're..."

"Feeling really uncomfortable about all this staring that's going on." The tanned girl stated, blinking at the group. A slight tap to her leg beneath the table from Bryan's foot made her jump slightly, finally remembering her manners. "Sorry, where are my manners. I'm Victoria Kowalski, and as Mr Dickenson may or may not have told you, I'm sort of responsible for hosting the charity tournament you've all volunteered to compete in."

Daichi seemed stunned at the sight of the girl, though a nudge in the ribs from Kevin snapped him out of it. "Told you she was gorgeous."

"I apologise for the brat pack; they must've left their manners at home." Kai stated, sending a glare to the group of bladers. "Sit down the lot of you and get your brains back into one piece; you're a disgrace."

"You probably did the same when you guys arrived." Tyson shot back, earning an eerie laugh from the redheaded Russian.

"The closest we got to being that pathetic was Bryan not paying any attention and walking straight into her."

The remainder of the room stood blinking for several moments, unsure of what to make of the comment, until the smells of pizza began to flood the room. "There'll be plenty of time for introductions later, for now sit and eat, my treat. Order almost anything you like to drink; alcohol is off limits I'm afraid, but anything else is on the house." The dark haired girl stated, packing up the cards.

Moments later the room was swarming with activity as groups seated themselves at tables, drinks were delivered and pizza arrived at most of the tables. The noise died down as they began to eat, enjoying the cheesy treat.

* * *

On his sixth piece, something finally dawned on the neko-jin leader as he looked around the room, spotting the teen celebrity sitting at the bar, her hands moving occasionally. As he'd thought she wasn't eating, something that made the male stop mid-bite and frown. Noticing his concern his second in command also stopped, turning his attention to the similar male.

"Ray, what's wrong?"

"She's not eating…"

Frowning at the comment, Lee followed the male's gaze, finding himself unable to ignore the sight. While the entire room, including her guards, were gorging themselves on pizza she appeared to be doing nothing more than drinking a glass of water and playing some game with cards. "It's just…a little strange; why treat all of us to pizza if she didn't plan to eat any herself?"

"You're right, that is weird…" both neko-jins sat watching the girl, their pizza forgotten. After several minutes the chef arrived out with a bowl and handed it to the girl, who began to eat from it quietly.

"…Pasta? She invited us to a pizza parlour, and she's eating pasta." Lee stated quietly, the confusion written clearly on her face.

"I remember reading somewhere she has a few food allergies; if I'm remembering rightly one of them is related to bread or cheese or something…" Kevin muttered, leaning over to the two. "She probably picked pizza because everyone loves pizza, even if she can't enjoy it."

Deciding it would be rather rude not to finish eating, the neko-jins finished devouring their meal, the duo debating whether or not they should go over and speak to the girl once they were finished. Debating the idea quietly in Chinese, they missed their chance as Michael walked over and sat next to her, clearly intent on flirting with the poor girl.

"Well, tonight will certainly be interesting."

It didn't take long for Michael to soon move on, the girl clearly making him uncomfortable in some way, though the smirk on her lips didn't give anything away. Moments later Johnny was leaning against the bar beside her, making no attempt to hide his intentions. Ray's curiosity peaked as the Scotsman began getting flustered quickly, adamantly trying to deny something. Finally reaching the limits of his frustration, he stomped off muttering under his breath, the girl giggling happily.

Ray stood suddenly and walked over to the girl, sitting in the empty seat next to her. "Hi, you're…Ray, right?" she smiled happily, holding out a hand to the male. "You look different without that bright red blush."

"Ah yeah, sorry about…walking in on you with the guys…while you were…changing…" the neko-jin replied, shaking the girl's hand. The crimson blush had made its way back onto his cheeks, enticing the smile back onto the girl's face. "That's not why I came over to talk to you though; I noticed you weren't eating pizza with the rest of us and it was bothering me."

"You want to know why I invited you all to a pizza place if I was going to have pasta?" she smiled, turning back to the now lukewarm dish before her. "I have a rather…unusual allergy; I'm somehow allergic to yeast; no one can tell me how or why, but I am. That means I can't eat most breads and pizzas. However pretty much everyone likes pizza, and I knew they did pasta dishes here also, so it seemed like a good idea."

Their conversation continued quietly about no subject in particular, when Lee, Mystel and Max, who were deep in conversation at the time, noticed the two sitting side by side. Mid-sentence the youngest of the trio stopped, frowning at the duo. "That's…freaky…" Mystel muttered, eyes still fixated on the duo.

"You're not kidding. If I didn't know better I'd almost think Ray was sitting next to himself." Max muttered in agreement, Lee's hazel eyes widening in realisation at the comment.

'No…surely not…Ray would've noticed by now, wouldn't he?' the neko-jin thought quietly, part of his mind convinced that the new idea in his head was wrong. 'There is no way the village elders were talking about here, is there? I'll have to talk to Ray about this later.'

The rest of the evening went by uneventfully, with Daichi ending up envied by every other male in the room after receiving a peck on the cheek from their celebrity host. Stating she was looking forward to the fundraiser tournament, Victoria bid farewell to the beybladers and departed for the night, the group heading home soon after.

Shortly after returning home, the sounds of snoring filled the house as most of the bladers went off to sleep. Only Lee remained awake, waiting a short while before disturbing Ray, he convinced the other to follow him outside, ensuring they wouldn't be disturbed.

* * *

"_Not again Lee; we know who called now so it's pretty obvious the Blitzkrieg Boys –"_

"_That's not what I need to talk to you about Ray! When you were talking with that girl, Victoria, I was sitting with Max and Mystel. We mentioned you briefly in conversation and all glanced over at the two of you, and…for a moment…it looked like there were two of you sitting side by side." _The tanned neko-jin stated, his hazel eyes locked on the amber of the team's leader.

"_What…but…the elders said that when I met her I'd know, that without knowing why I'd be able to tell she was part of me; you're probably just desperate to find my sister because the elders said I have one. For all we know she could be dead." _Ray snapped back, frowning at the male.

"_Ask Mystel or Max! They saw the same thing I did and thought the same damned thing; if we didn't know better there was a copy of you sitting right next to you at the bar! If you don't want to hear it, fine! But that's the truth; you look similar and you can't ignore the possibility!"_

Ray let out a growl, pinning the other neko-jin solidly against the ground. _"If it was her I should have felt something! The elders said-"_

"_Forget what the elders said! You need to talk to her alone and ask about her parents, or find out where she was born! Something definitive that tells us if it's possible at all that she's your other half!"_

Growling Ray let the other male up, pacing back and forth for several moments before striking a nearby tree. _"…they…apparently Drigger's other half should be with her. It doesn't matter what might have happened since; if she's ever been with Drigger's brother he'll be able to tell me; that should be enough, shouldn't it?"_

* * *

"_They're fighting like cats and dogs."_

"_Did you have to make the dumbest comparison possible Bryan? Besides, it sounds like they have their own problems." _Tala stated, looking over to the slate haired teen beside him. _"So Ray had a sister, and they think it could possibly be our little Tori?"_

"_It is possible; she grew up with us and they were fairly fond of kidnapping children without a trace. Her balance was always better, her hearing sharper and we tended to put it down to tests they'd done." _Kai muttered, focusing on Ray. _"If we can get a DNA sample from him somehow, and one of Tori we can test it."_

"_And then what? Tell her she's a neko-jin, related to Ray, from a small village that never bothered to try and find her? The truth about where any of us came from is probably more painful than any lie we were ever fed." _Spencer stated, his gaze turning to his hands. _"She's probably done the same as the rest of us Kai; we're convinced that our families were killed so the Abbey could have us; so there were no parents that were failing to protect us."_

"_He's right. Thinking that there might be someone out there who gave birth to you or your parents, hell even a sibling, that didn't care enough to stop those bastards from taking you, that hurts more than thinking you're alone in the world." _Bryan's grip on the windowsill tightened, his own painful memories resurfacing.

They'd stumbled, by accident, onto some files pertaining to the lavender haired teen's family. He'd been willingly sold to the Abbey for experimentation, his parents were alive and had three more children, all of whom they'd kept. Just their first child, just Bryan, they'd gotten rid of. _"If they tell her then fine; let them. I'm not going to help you destroy that ideal for her."_

The gruff teen moved away from the window and dropped into his bed, ignoring the other males as they continued to discuss developments. In the end, however, they agreed with Bryan's decision to let the neko-jins tell the girl.

* * *

"I still can't believe Kai got a call from _Victoria Kowalski _for us all to have dinner with her!" Hillary stated as she and the other girls lay in the dark, all too excited to sleep.

"I've heard that she used to be a beyblader when she was younger, but gave it up for some unknown reason. She's still considered the top female blader in our generation by a lot of people." Julia stated, earning noises of awe from the other girls.

"I wonder if she'll be competing in the tournament…" Matilda wondered aloud, earning curious mutters from the rest of the room. "Just to have the chance to beybattle her would be amazing; I bet she's as graceful at beyblading as she is at everything else."

"You have to wonder though, if she was so talented, why did she give it up?" Emily asked curiously, making all the girls pause mid thought. "And was it just me or did she seem fairly familiar with the Blitzkrieg Boys?"

"Now that I'm sure you were imagining; there's no way any girl as beautiful, talented and sweet as her would even waste time trying to get to know those guys!" Ming Ming stated, sitting upright. "I mean, sure they've got gorgeous bodies and look great shirtless. And they're insanely loyal to one another, and just ooze talent and…did I have a point in there somewhere?"

"…I don't know anymore, Ming Ming. But I think we all need to get some sleep. Goodnight everyone!"

* * *

Tai: Make me happy and review for meh birthday present peeps! ^^


	5. Developments

Tai: Well well well, two updates from me today. Home for the holidays, stories to finish, blah blah blah...yea...not in a happy mood right now so I'll be writing, if anyone manages to see this tonight flick me a PM with a pairing suggestion (check my profile if you need to) and I'll likely write something.

Anyway, update! Enjoy and what-not

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Note: Yes I've had it brought to my attention that I write some _huge _paragraphs, apparently, and it bores people. That is how I write things, and if you're not a fan then I apologise, but it's how I write. I don't see the point in making really short paragraphs, I make them where they seem to naturally fall.

* * *

Another day of training should have followed their pizza night, although it seemed no one was actually paying attention to anything they were doing, including the Blitzkrieg Boys. The girls were growing more and more suspicious of the group, considering they were normally incredibly focused on training and serious. Partway through a training match between Kai and Bryan, however, the duo gave up all five of the team members gathered in a group discussing something quietly in Russian.

The White Tigers X seemed equally distracted, Ray and Lee causing the distraction of their teammates more than anything. Unlike the Blitzkrieg Boys, the two black haired males hadn't even bothered to sort out their beyblading gear and were merely sitting in a tree well away from their teammates, talking in Chinese to avoid being overheard. They'd chosen to sit just past the Russian team, deciding no one was likely to cross the path of the large males willingly.

"Come on guys, what's wrong with all of you? We should be having fun and practicing for that fundraising tournament!" Tyson yelled, the frustration in his tone evident. "We want to give everyone there a great show, don't we?"

Several of the bladers seemed to agree with this notion, though Oliver, Miguel, Mystel, Rick and Brooklyn weren't among them. "Sorry Tyson, I guess some of us just have a few things on our minds at the moment." Miguel apologised, the aforementioned bladers nodding their agreement with the tanned blonde's statement.

The normally hyperactive American blonde stood suddenly, having been quiet all day. "Max? Is something wrong?" Tyson questioned the blonde, his pale friend refusing to make eye contact as he turned toward the gate.

"I just remembered there's something I need to do today; I was going to do it later but since we're not training at the moment, I figured I could go now." He stated evasively, concerning most of the bladers present. He ignored any further attempts to get his attention or follow him, taking off at a run as he hit the street.

Tyson made to take off after him, stopped when he felt a hand on his arm. "Let him go Tyson; it's probably personal." Kai stated, his slate eyes watching as the blonde disappeared around the corner. Unknown to the rest of the bladers, who were focused more on the stoic male and normally loud world champion, Bryan had taken off after the blonde at the dual haired teen's suggestion, the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys heading out in a similar direction to make it appear they'd gone somewhere as a group.

* * *

"So you came; I'm glad." The voice was rather digitised, as though it was being distorted by something despite the figure being directly in front of him. Though he couldn't see what was beneath the helmet, the blonde figured there was some sort of voice distorter hiding the male's voice.

"The note said to meet you here; why alone?" the blonde challenged, earning a hollow laugh from the other male.

"Because I didn't think you'd want your friends seeing your imperfect defence being destroyed by a perfect one. You could've brought them if you wanted." The figure gave a nonchalant shrug, pulling out a launcher and blade. "So, are we going to do this or what?"

"Who are you?" Max questioned, none the less readying his equipment.

"Ah so your teammate Rick hasn't mentioned it. Very well then, I'll tell you who I am; you may call me Blackbird. I am here to test you." The boy received no further explanation as the other raised his blade, ready to start the battle.

"3, 2, 1, let it rip!" the duo yelled simultaneously, their blades entering a clash on the ground.

* * *

From the shelter of the nearby trees Bryan watched as the beybattle began, the two seeming evenly matched in a lot of ways, however one thing became obvious quickly; Max's opponent wasn't attacking, merely dodging or blocking the blonde's attacks, as if waiting for something. It became painfully clear to the Russian a few moments later when the American called on his bit beast to attack; the blonde's opponent becoming more interested in the battle.

It seemed the masked male was easily able to dodge Max's simpler attacks, though as he began utilising the full power of the Black Turtle it became increasingly obvious that his opponent was only just getting serious about the match.

"I'd heard you were the best defence style beyblader to ever blade in the world championships; I must've heard wrong." The other male stated. "I think it's time I taught you some real defensive beyblading. Let's go!"

* * *

As Draciel stopped spinning with a clatter, Max dropped to the ground panting. He was exhausted, but it seemed his opponent was more than ready to keep battling if need be, the black beyblade still spinning strongly. Both males had only caught the faintest glimpse of the black bird bit beast as it emerged from the blade, the defensive force it produced crippling Draciel. The Black Turtle's defence had been broken, the green beyblade shattered but the bit intact; the only part that wasn't damaged.

His opponent called back the black blade, turning away from the blonde. "You have a lot to learn, Max. I'll find you again when I think you're ready." The mysterious blader walked off without another word, leaving the blonde shaking on the ground.

Bryan walked over wordlessly to Draciel and looked at the remains of the blade; the attack ring, weight disk and base were all in pieces; how the bit had survived unscathed was a mystery. Removing his blade from the small pouch he normally kept it in, he knelt down and swept the broken parts into the case; ensuring he kept the bit chip in his hand.

Placing his own blade carefully in another pocket, he walked over to the blonde, pressing the turtle's chip into the American's pale hand. Max looked up at the falcon, the absolute shock still clear in his eyes. "Draciel's all right, but you'll need a new beyblade after that; I'm sure Kenny can work on one for you if you want." Kneeling down, the lavender haired male put an arm around his slender waist, the other ensuring the remains of the green blade were securely held in place. "Let's go."

Max nodded deftly, vaguely aware of what the Russian was doing and had already done. Leaning on the larger male, Draciel tightly held in one hand, he wrapped his free arm around Bryan's neck, giving both an easier time as they shuffled back towards the Granger dojo.

* * *

The rest of the bladers, meanwhile, had taken to sitting around talking about their dinner the night before. Kai's attention was focused more down the street in the direction both Max and Bryan had taken off in, no one having seen any sign on the blonde since he'd run off. He sat upright suddenly, a frown affixed on his features. "Is that…" Without another word he took off, scarf trailing behind him as he moved almost soundlessly down the street to the two males.

Placing himself on Max's other side he helped the lavender haired male guide the blonde the rest of the way back to the dojo, more than happy to take most of the American's weight. His sudden disappearance from the group hadn't been missed, however, and most of the other bladers had made it to the gate by the time the two Russian's had mostly carried the younger teen there.

"Max! What's wrong? What happened?" Tyson questioned, his concern voicing the thoughts of all those present. The rest of the Russian team, however, was more concerned with getting the teen somewhere comfortable and easily pushed their way through the rest of the teams, clearing a path for Bryan and Kai to bring the blonde through.

Reaching the covered walkway, the two Russians allowed the American to sit, his gaze turning to focus on the bit chip in his hand. Slate green met with deep red, the two males coming to a quiet understanding as Kai sat down beside the blonde, Bryan walking off toward the other side of the yard and motioning for the others to follow him.

"He was challenged to a beybattle; not sure who his opponent was; I've never seen him before." Bryan stated once they were out of the teens earshot. He moved to unclip the pouch he'd placed what was left of the green blade in, handing it to Kenny. "It was brutal; he held his own for a while until this guy turned around and attacked; it was almost as though his defence was more perfect than Max's; any time Max attacked he'd block against it and attack straight back."

Nodding to the pouch in Kenny's hands, he sighed. "That's what's left of Draciel; his bit chip was undamaged but the rest of it…"

As the young brunette opened the case he let out a cry of surprise, almost dropping it. Those facing the bespectacled genius gathered around quickly to see what had him so surprised, their own shock taking over. If they hadn't been told it was once a beyblade they wouldn't have believed it; it was now no more than scrap.

"The hell didn't you do anything to help him?" Tyson accused, though it seemed he wasn't the only one to think that. Most of the bladers had turned their scrutinising gazes onto the male.

"And have Falborg end up in a similar state, or worse? Hell that guy was proving a point; if I'd gotten in the way who's to say he wouldn't have taken both our bit beasts and destroyed our blades completely. As it is Max still has Draciel, though how when the attack ring and core were shredded I have no idea." The lavender haired male shot back, his attention back on the blonde.

"Did this guy introduce himself?" Miguel questioned, his blue eyes not once leaving the blade.

The Russian thought for a moment before shrugging. "Not really; called himself 'Blackbird'."

Gasps of shock echoed around the group as the eyes of Miguel, Mystel, Oliver, Rick and Brooklyn widened at the name.

"You're joking!" Miguel stated, his eyes fixing on the Russian.

"He's here?" Mystel questioned, his own blue-eyed gaze frowning at the Russian.

"Wait, how have you guys heard of him?" Oliver wondered aloud, looking at the other males. "I battled him in France before we came here; he destroyed my blade but left Unicolion untouched."

Three of the remaining bladers admitted to having had their own run-ins with the mysterious blader and having their beyblades destroyed. It seemed Brooklyn was the only one to have seen the male but not battled him; something all found weird.

"I talked to him briefly; he said that there are a few bladers that are considered the best in their class, and they need to learn a lesson. What that lesson was he didn't say, and to be quite honest since then I haven't been able to see who'll win a single match." The orange haired male informed them, confusing the group further.

All attention turned back to the distraught American, who was leaning against Kai, his shoulders shaking. His hand was clearly still clenched around his bit chip, the teen clearly hesitant to let the turtle go.

"Let's hope whatever lesson we need to learn lets us keep our bit beasts."

* * *

A couple of hours later, after the group had all eaten lunch and Max had cheered up somewhat, the group was still avoiding practice, though no one wanted to train after the American blonde's unfortunate encounter. Bryan was off to one side with Emily and Kenny, the trio working quietly on something, though what the others weren't sure.

It wasn't until Miguel's curiosity got the better of him that the Spaniard found out; the lavender haired Russian was actually rather good at the technical aspects of putting together a beyblade, and he was helping the two aforementioned geeks create a new Draciel blade. From what the male could tell they were close to being done; something that wouldn't have normally happened with just Emily and Kenny working on it. 'I guess the Russians have a few hidden talents then…'

His gaze moved on to the American blonde who'd been quiet since his return to the group, sitting off to one side, both the American and Russian teams nearby keeping an eye on him. "It's done!" Kenny's triumphant voice drew the attention of all the teens, all pausing mid-conversation to look over at the male as he held the new green blade high.

The brunette hurried over to Max, handing the blade to the blonde teen. "Go on Max; give it a try." All three of the new blade's creators seemed eager for him to test out their creation, so the blonde reluctantly sighed and placed Draciel into the blade, clipping it to his launder.

Launching the blade, some of Max's normal charm seemed to return as he easily and quickly completed some basic manoeuvres, eyes tracking the new blade. Bryan soundlessly launched his blade alongside the blonde's, smirking lightly. "May as well test out the new design." The lavender haired Russian stated, earning an eager nod from the American. It was really the least he could do after everything the Russian had done for him.

As the blades began to clash a roar of support rose from the watching group, encircling the two bladers as their battle began.

* * *

On a nearby rooftop the mysterious figure known only as Blackbird watched the scene below, eyes watching the Russian and American test the limits of the new beyblade. A wave of guilt had taken hold of the blader after destroying the blonde teen's blade, but seeing the blonde happily trying out the new creation made the blader smile.

"Well then, they all have their own lessons to learn. Let's hope they learn them before the tournament starts. Max probably has the hardest lesson to learn, but Bryan should be able to help him out; he's the only one that had a second pair of eyes watching." The blader looked over the group briefly, smirking somewhat. "Looks like I was picking on the blondes a bit, but they'll benefit most, won't they Phixies?"

Glancing down at the blade, the bird shimmered briefly before turning into a large black feline. "I know you don't like turning into a bird, if someone recognised you they'd know it was me immediately." The blader took one final look at the group before jumping down off the roof and heading into the city.

* * *

Having fixed Max's blade and helped him test it out, Bryan was about to suggest another practice battle when he stopped mid-sentence and glanced over at the rest of the Russian team. _"We're meant to be meeting Tori for dinner aren't we?" _Realising what he'd just done, the lavender haired male turned to the young American blonde. "Sorry Max, probably could've asked that in english…"

"It's all right. What did you say anyway?" the blonde asked curiously, watching the pale Russian.

"We're supposed to be going to dinner with an old friend, I was just wondering what time." Bryan replied, earning a nod of thanks from the blonde.

"Yes, we're going to dinner at seven. There's a car coming to pick us shortly." Tala replied, looking at the shorter Russian. "We should probably get tidied up."

"Fair point."

"So you're not going to be here for dinner?" Garland frowned, looking between the Russians.

"Unfortunately not; sorry we probably should've mentioned that earlier." Kai stated, tucking away his blade. "We should probably get tidied up before the car arrives."

Nods of agreement met him from the rest of the team, each of the males tucking away their blade and heading inside. A wave of whispers seemed to sweep through the other teams as the Russians headed inside, Bryan moving to follow his team until Max stopped him briefly. "What time are you guys going to be back?"

"Not sure, probably late." The Russian replied quietly, something that didn't match his gruff demeanour at all. "Why don't we try out your new blade out some more tomorrow?"

A nod from the blonde was his only reply before he headed inside with the rest of his team, rather glad he and Max had been practicing away from the others. When he finally reached the room the team was staying in, he found the rest of his team already half changed; their usual blading clothing replaced with tidy shirts and plain jeans or straight black pants. It was an odd sight; they looked more normal than any beyblade team normally did.

"_Has she called at all?" _the lavender haired male asked, stripping off his t-shirt and digging through his bag.

"_No, which I find surprising. I thought she might confirm that we're still able to meet her for dinner tonight." _Kai replied, tidying his hair somewhat. _"I guess she figured we'd remember."_

"_Really it's our fault if we miss it." _Tala stated, sighing. _"Any thoughts on a convincing lie if the others ask about dinner tonight?"_

Spencer let out a small chuckle at the thought, shaking his head. _"We're meeting up with an old friend for dinner; I don't think anyone will ask questions."_

Bryan had barely finished getting changed when a car turned up, the Russians moving silently outside to greet the driver before disappearing into the vehicle, which soon headed off down the road. Although the other bladers had acted completely disinterested in what the Blitzkrieg Boys were doing, everyone was, of course, very curious.

With training for the day finished, they all decided to pitch in and help with making dinner, which meant things were ready faster than normal. "Who do you think they're going to meet?" Tyson asked, looking around the rest of the group. "I saw them when they were leaving, they were dressed like my brother."

The room went silent at the comment, trying to figure out what he meant, each having to picture the world champion's brother to put the pieces together. "You mean a shirt and dress pants?" Ming Ming asked, blinking at the dark haired male.

He nodded, the rest of the group rolling their eyes somewhat at his way of explaining things. "Maybe it's actually a business meeting about the abbey; the Blitzkrieg Boys took over running it after Voltaire was arrested, didn't they?" Micheal asked, drawing some surprised looks from the rest of the room. "What? I pay attention to things other than sport."

"It might be someone from the abbey that's done well for themselves, I mean they can't be the only ones from the abbey that managed to make household names of themselves." Matilda countered, earning nods from several other members of the room.

"Whoever it is, I'm guessing it's been a long time since they've seen them." Ray stated, finishing his own meal. "Kai's not normally one to interrupt training for anything."

Satisfied that the team left for a good reason, the group began deciding what they'd do the following day. The charity tournament was only a week away, and they had another two weeks of staying at the Granger dojo left.

* * *

Tai: Review if you like


	6. Details

**Tai: **Welp I really should finish this story; I know where it's going and I've written down the plan so I won't forget, like I did with an old FMA story. There's still quite a bit to go (unfortunately for me; fortunately for any readers though), and it's changed direction slightly from where it started. Luckily the direction change has no effect on the parts of the story that already exist.

Unlike my other beyblade story, I don't have chapters already written for this. I'm putting them up as I finish them, which is rather helpful for me so I know where I'm up to.

Some feedback would be nice, but meh. The only thing I do have a request for is IF I could throw a couple into this story, what would it be? Please keep in mind I don't like the TyKa pairing. If you have any suggestions just review and let me know; I have ways to make things work :P

Disclaimer: Don't own beyblade.

* * *

**Chapter 6:** **Details**

"I can't believe Max, Mystel, Miguel, Oliver, Brooklyn and Rick have all been challenged by this guy and I'm only hearing about him because Max faced him and this guy destroyed his blade!" the blunette's ranting and raving echoed down the hallways of the dojo. He started muttering to himself as he entered the kitchen, stopping when he came face to face with the stony eyed Russians.

One look at the lavender haired male told Tyson he'd be dead several times over if looks could kill. "Max's blade was almost completely destroyed, the others probably had to deal with the same, and you're _jealous_ that this bastard picked them instead of you?" the question was clearly rhetorical, which the Japanese blader thankfully identified, although that was probably due to the older male's tone.

"Bryan leave it." Kai snapped back, glancing between both. "Max wanted to practice against you again today; Rick's been bothering him about his battle with Blackbird since he got up." The strange sentence confused the world champion, but seemed to make perfect sense to the other Russians, as Bryan quickly excused himself outside.

Tyson let out a sigh and sorted himself some breakfast, glancing out the window to where all his guests were already practicing. He watched curiously as the lavender haired Russian walked towards Rick and Max, the blonde perking up slightly at the sight of the Russian, while the larger American appeared to quickly call out to another member of their team. 'I guess he doesn't like Bryan.'

* * *

The girls had gathered into a group again, sitting around quietly talking between themselves about the developments of yesterday. "So we know why they're all acting weird. Mystery solved I guess." Hilary stated, laying back on the grass.

"Some weird blader came and attacked them and destroyed their blades. I wouldn't really call that 'mystery solved' Hilary. Why those guys and not any of the Russians? Or Tyson? Hell why haven't any of the White Tigers been challenged?" Mariah responded, looking at the other girls. "Oliver might've said he was going for a meeting and ended up in a beybattle, but I saw Ray and Lee go into the elder's meeting room and come back out of it at the end."

"So we know why everyone is acting weird, except for those two and the Russians." Emily corrected, glancing over their group. "But Mariah has a point; why hasn't this mysterious guy challenged Tyson?"

"Maybe he doesn't think he can beat the world champion." Julia suggested, looking over the other girls, "I mean no offence to the others, but Max is probably the strongest blader this guy has taken on, and he could hold his own against this guy. Tyson is probably too strong."

The youngest of the girls looked over to the blonde from her team and stood suddenly, making sure to keep her eyes on the Spaniard. "Well I say it's time we find out why they were challenged, rather than wondering why someone hasn't." Making a beeline for Miguel, the other girls sat quietly and watched their exchange. The young pinkette was clearly animated as she questioned the blonde, and it was obvious when he finally gave in.

Soon enough the broadly smiling girl walked back over to the group with the tall green eyed male in tow, who seemed to be sighing in defeat as he sat down, surrounded by the girls. Ming Ming seemed ready to pounce on him with questions, but Julia interrupted quite quickly.

"So what did this blader want? I mean surely he didn't just come, challenge you to a battle, destroy your blade and then leave." The orange haired girl questioned, looking at the blonde. "What happened?"

"I was out to look at some beyblade parts and get groceries for the team, and this guy, Blackbird, just dropped down in front of me and challenged me to a battle. I guess I held my own but then…" he sighed, looking down at his hands. "It was like he used my own style against me, then managed to do an attack that crushed my beyblade without even scratching Dark Gargoyle. Before he left…he said I had a lesson to learn, and he'd find me when he thought I was ready."

"Wait, so this guy is going to come after you again?" Ming Ming questioned, her aqua eyes going wide. "So what's the lesson? Are you sure he's not just some cruel sadist who likes destroying blades, and destroying Max's was just his way of saying he's in town and coming to destroy your new blade?"

"Calm down Ming Ming, I'm sure this guy wouldn't have gone through the trouble of picking specific bladers if it was just so he could destroy blades." The redhead stated, tapping a few things into her computer. "But the idea of a lesson to learn makes sense, particularly if you look at who's been challenged."

Emily's statement caught the attention of the group, who quickly gathered around the small screen. "Max is the best defensive blader within the group, Mystel has an amazing reputation as an agile attack beyblader, Rick is a brute force attacker, Brooklyn predicts his opponents moves-"

"But that doesn't explain Miguel and Oliver. They're not really known for any particular style or skill." Mariah interrupted, looking at the blonde, who just stared blankly at the group. "Oliver is an artist and a chef as well as a beyblader, everything he does is really beautiful and detailed, more so than anyone else, maybe that's why he was targeted?"

"Then what about me?" the Spanish blonde questioned, silencing all the girls as they tried to fit the last piece of the puzzle.

"You have a bitbeast that you don't trust, it's obvious from your blading style, which you've adapted to avoid needing to use it." The sudden addition to the conversation made everyone jump, turning to face the redheaded Russian. "I noticed it when you battled Kai at the world championships. Other than that, there's nothing hugely unique about your style."

The normally stoic Russian motioned to his blonde teammate and headed off to practice, leaving the group thinking about what he'd said. "Maybe that's it then; the lesson you have to learn is to trust and use your bitbeast?"

"It would fit. But then what do the others have to learn?" the blonde asked, glancing over to the youngest of the Americans. "It's like he's saying their styles aren't good enough."

"I don't think it's that they're not good enough, it's probably more that they're incomplete in some way." Julia countered, looking over the list. "Or that they're relying on one thing much more than they should."

"Whatever this guy is really after, I'll have to prepare to face him again, I guess." Miguel muttered walking back over to Claude so the duo could start training.

"I wonder why that guy destroyed Max's blade…Emily are you sure Rick came back with his blade?" Mariah confirmed, looking at the girl. "Miguel just confirmed his blade was destroyed without scratching the bit, maybe the same happened to Rick."

"It looked like the same blade, but he hasn't let me check it since the incident, I guess it's entirely possible and he's just too proud to say anything." The redhead stated, looking around the yard. "Come on, we can get back to this later, and I guess we should get some practice in before we lose the whole day."

* * *

Oliver, Mariah, Spencer and Claude were busy cooking lunch when a loud knock sounded at the door, a sound that sent Tyson racing through the house and skidding to a halt at the front door. Yanking it open with more excitement than really necessary, he stood silently blinking at the new arrival for several moments before speaking. "Uh….hi?"

"Oh Frank I told you to lighten up! You're probably scaring him." The cheerful happy female voice seemed to snap the young male out of his stupor, as the large brunette male stepped sideways to reveal the young dark haired woman. "Sorry to drop by unannounced but I have some forms for everyone to fill out! I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

The world champion took several minutes to pick his jaw up off the floor after staring at the girl; the form fitting dress probably wasn't helping him any, made of a deep red fabric covered with a couple of white flowers. It stopped just a little above her knees, starting just above her breasts, and Tyson had definitely noticed, making the larger males around the young woman somewhat nervous.

"NO! No of course not, we're just having a break for lunch, come in I'm sure everyone would be happy to see you!" the bluenette stated, opening the door wider so the girl could come in. "Everyone is out back in the yard, this way!" he stated happily, leading the somewhat strange group through the house and out into the yard. "Guys look who's here!"

The general consensus of the group was to follow Tyson's lead and let their jaws drop to the floor, while Victoria blocked her ears in preparation for the chorus of screams that were bound to come. Sure enough they did, and the four cooks emerged from the kitchen to investigate.

"Victoria! Please don't tell me you've eaten already, you'd just love what we're having for lunch!" the green haired Frenchman purred, walking over and hugging the girl. "I didn't get a chance to talk to you at dinner the other night!"

"My apologies as always Oliver, and no I haven't eaten yet, in fact I was planning on going out for lunch after stopping in here." The girl replied, returning the friendly embrace. "Joining you for lunch would be lovely, unless there's something else I need to be doing today, Frank?"

"Nothing at all; the four of us can get out of your hair for the afternoon while you sort the paperwork for the tournament if you like." The brunette responded, the five Russian bladers freezing at the suggestion. "Call when you're sorted."

"That's probably easiest." The girl agreed with a nod, smiling at the Frenchman. "Can't wait for lunch!"

Before leaving, her blonde guard placed a rather large box on the ground by the house, and although the entire group was curious none of them disturbed her privacy and looked through the box. Training came to an abrupt stop as everyone prepared for lunch and took the opportunity to have a conversation with the young woman, several of the males opting to try flirting with the girl.

As everyone sat silently tucking into their meal, Tyson found the silence suddenly reminding him of why their visitor had come to call. "What are the forms for?" The random and rather oddly timed question confused most of those present, although it seemed like a perfectly normal question to ask.

"Oh, they're the entry forms for the tournament, Mr Dickenson's idea really; he thought it'd be a nice idea to let anyone who wanted to enter, and so long as they fill out the form they can." The dark haired girl chirped happily. "Of course it wouldn't be much of a charity tournament if the BBA was doing all the work, so there's people who work for my father who've been assigned to go through everything."

"Are you entering?"

The question was blurted out from several directions almost simultaneously, surprising the amber eyed girl. "Why would I enter?" she asked innocently, looking around the group quickly.

"Because you used to be a beyblader, at least that's what it says online." Hilary explained quickly, several of the girls nodding in agreement. "It didn't say why you gave up on it, but you were amazing when you did-"

A familiar high-pitch laugh interrupted the brunette, and all eyes turned to the aqua haired girl who soon stopped her giggling. "Sorry, but that puffed up diva of a daddy's girl has probably never bladed a day in her life. You can't believe everything you hear on the internet."

If anyone had been paying attention to anyone other than the two females, they probably would've noticed the looks of bewilderment on the faces of the Blitzkrieg Boys. Of course, having one high-pitched teenage diva insult another was always going to draw the attention of those nearby, like moths to a light.

"She's right." Victoria replied happily, her gaze returning to her plate. "You can't believe everything you read on the internet; after all I read there was a girl promoting BEGA who was going to be the next big thing. Apparently she was an amazing singer and beyblader, but all I ever saw and heard was a screechy blob of discoloured candyfloss."

Those sitting between the two girls quickly moved towards the edges of the yard; out of the possible line of fire but still within earshot. Ming Ming meanwhile was still sitting in the same place, mouth agape as she stared at the ebony haired teen.

"How dare you!" she snapped, standing and storming over to the other girl. She stood glaring at the girl for several moments before smirking, her voice taking on a mocking tone. "You're just jealous because I'm everything people claim you are, and you're just afraid to show just how bad you are at beyblading."

Without a word the dark haired girl stood and walked over to the box one of her bodyguards had left behind. Opening it, she quickly retrieved a silver and black beyblade and launcher before turning to the aqua eyed girl. "Fine then; if you want a battle then let's go."

The excitement in the yard was obvious at the ex-BEGA blader produced her own blade and the duo faced off and started their countdown.

"Three, two, one, let it rip!"

Peach clashed with black as the two blades collided on the ground, neither girl paying much attention to their audience. "Let's go, Venus!" Ming Ming cheered, smirking happily as her own blade appeared to easily push around their darker opponent.

"Phyxes stop playing around." Victoria stated, rolling her eyes somewhat. "Shadow strike. " The bit of the black blade began to glow, something all those present recognised instantly as the release of a bit-beast. Sure enough the glowing form of a bit-beast appeared briefly before disappearing into a sudden wave of black fog.

"Venus temptation!" the green haired girl called, her own beyblade responding instantly with a counter attack that didn't appear to be in time.

The unnatural black fog swallowed both blades, hiding them from the sight of all bladers present. It seemed over quickly as the peach blade bounced back toward Ming Ming, the girl surprised by the outcome as the darkness disappeared, leaving the silver-black blade still spinning. It seemed she wasn't the only one, as the dark haired girl's victory was met with a mixed response for varying reasons.

Victoria was all smiles however as she called back her blade and headed back to the box she'd plucked it out of, taking several moments to register the wave of silence. Turning back to the group, she frowned. "What?"

"It's just…"

"You made that look effortless!" Daichi yelled, bouncing over to stare at the girl.

The dark haired girl stood blinking at them, although now less confused as to why they seemed to be so stunned. "Oh…well when you spend hours standing around talking to old people and studying and doing a hundred other things at once doing one thing at a time can be kind of…easy." She shrugged, tucking her blade securely into one pocket and returning the launcher to the box. "That, and she who strikes first wins."

Ming Ming was clearly furious at the outcome, though most of the others present were quite happy to accept the explanation. The Russians all managed to bite their tongues on the matter, although the need to didn't last long as one by one they noted the dark haired neko-jins talking quickly and quietly together.

"So, tournament form anyone?" The girl grinned, happily passing the sheets of paper around to the bladers, along with several pens.

"You do realise that after a battle like that you _have _to enter as well, right?" Emily pointed out, watching as the dark haired girl placed the remaining forms into the box. Victoria seemed to sigh in defeat and grabbed herself a form, filling it out with the rest of the group.

Training for the rest of the day appeared to be cancelled as the group attempted to gather as much information as they could about the format of the tournament. They were delighted to find out they'd be split into 8 brackets, and within a bracket all the bladers would battle one another. The top two from each bracket would then move into best of three battles, with the final match turning into a best of five.

Miguel seemed hesitant to voice one last question as the girl picked up her phone to contact her bodyguards. "There…there's not someone named 'Blackbird' entered in the tournament, is there?" the Spaniard questioned, earning an interested gaze from the black haired girl.

"No…I don't think so. I can check when I get back to the motel and let you know; how does that sound?"

The suggestion received a nod of thanks, and the girl called the males that had dropped her off; thanking the group for their hospitality. "Thank you for lunch; I'll see you all at the tournament!" she smiled happily, bounding away with the filled out forms. Victoria had already told the group her bodyguards would be meeting her nearby, although why the group weren't sure.

The bladers were too busy saying their farewells that they didn't realise until the dark haired teen was well out of sight that the box brought with her had been left behind. The Russians eyed it sceptically, muttering between themselves trying to debate if she'd left it on purpose.

"Do you think she left it behind for a reason?" Tyson questioned, picking the box up.

Ray shook his head, relieving the world champion of the box. "I doubt it; I'll see if I can catch up with her before she disappears off to her motel."

None of the bladers had time to argue as the neko-jin took off, box in hand, while the remainder of the group stood trying to fully process the sudden decision. It seemed his fellow black haired neko-jin wasn't as surprised, although that soon changed when the female bladers turned on him.

"Lee, why have you and Ray been acting all secret-y?" Mariah frowned, looking at her brother.

That seemed to be the magic phrase as all eyes turned to the male, both orange haired females helping the pinkettes to corner him. "She's right; the two of you have spent a lot of time having whispered conversations over in a corner of the yard." Julia agreed, earning several nods from the gathered group.

"Almost everyone else who's acting weird we know why, but you and Ray are still a mystery." Emily stated, fixing her glasses. "Now spill, what's going on with you two?"

* * *

'Come on…where is she?' Ray wondered, his amber eyes glancing around quickly for any sign of the rather well known female. A glimpse of long black hair disappearing around a corner ahead of him sent him racing off again, dodging between people as he continued running down the street.

Rounding the corner he crashed straight into someone, sending both of them sprawling backward onto the ground.

"Ow…." The gentle and familiar voice mumbled, causing the black haired male to actually open his eyes and look at who he'd run into.

"Victoria! Sorry about running into you…literally…" the neko-jin apologised. "You…ah…left this back at the dojo." Ray stated, tapping the box gently. "I thought you might want it since you left your launcher in it…."

"You're right; I did. Thanks for bringing it to me Ray." She smiled happily, re-gathering the bundle of papers she'd dropped upon colliding with the similar looking male. She looked over at the still stunned and seated male, blinking. "Is there something else?"

"Ah…no…not really…actually I was wondering where you got your bitbeast…if you don't mind me asking." Ray questioned, finally getting to his feet. He offered a hand to the girl, who happily took it and allowed herself to be pulled upright.

Victoria let out a sigh, looking up slightly and realising just how close the male was. "I've had Phyxes as long as I can remember." She mumbled, hand closing around the blade. "He's the only thing I have from my parents…"

"That's unfortunate…do you know what happened to them?" Ray asked softly, frowning as the girl tensed at the comment.

"No, but I'm pretty sure they're dead." She stated bluntly, gaze flickering briefly to the box.

"Sorry, I suppose it's not really fair of me to pry." The neko-jin apologised, holding out the reason he'd chased after her. "Here; you still have to meet up with your bodyguards, right?"

"Mm, thanks. I'll see you at the tournament." She stated, taking the box into her arms and turning away from the male. The neko-jin remained silent as the dark haired teen disappeared from sight, and he let out a sigh.

'Dammit Lee; why did I have to listen to you? Now it's not just some stupid theory, it's a real possibility.'

"_You shouldn't be so down about possibly finding my brother and your sister, Raymond."_ Drigger growled in his mind. _"You could do worse than finding her."_

'Like what?'

"_Like the elder's could've been right on why they hadn't told you earlier; they thought she was dead until a few months ago. Would you have been happier to find a grave rather than a living, breathing person?"_

'I just wish she wasn't so…cold talking about what might've happened to her parents….'


	7. Challenges

**Tai: **Well apparently there's people following this story. A review would be nice, but meh; I'm currently in the process of finishing this for my own sanity. I am, however, willing to start moving towards pairings; whether it's something rather bizarre like Brooklyn/Spencer (not sure how I'd swing that, but I'd give it a shot). Effectively first in, first served and currently no one is paired with anyone else. So at this stage no relationships! That means if **YOU **have a favourite couple you like to see, review and if you're fast enough it'll happen.

No reviews and I'll come up with all the pairings I want. Likely Bryan/Kai, or Bryan/Max and Kai/Ray or something...

Warnings: OOCness, me losing track of just how many beybladers I'm dealing with (yes I'm aware I did miss a couple of teams, but I got most of the major ones)

* * *

**Chapter 7: Challenges**

When Ray returned to the dojo, he found himself quickly surrounded by several other bladers, namely Tyson, Matilda, Miguel and Garland. Frowning, the neko-jin glanced over to his team to see Lee in a similar position, trying desperately to get out of some situation or another. "What's going on?" he asked, glancing between the four who'd surrounded him.

"Did that Blackbird guy challenge you and Lee back in the White Tiger village?" Tyson asked, clearly annoyed by the idea.

"What?"

"The other girls and I have noticed that some of you have been acting weird; Mystel, Miguel, Rick, Brooklyn and Oliver were all challenged by Blackbird just before they started acting weird." Matilda explained, eyes fixed on the male. "You and Lee have been acting strange as well."

The neko-jin sighed and cast a glance over to his black haired teammate. "It's…a personal matter." He stated carefully. "We weren't challenged by anyone; Lee and I had a meeting with the elders and they told me something about my parents I wasn't aware of…" Ray trailed off, gaze dropping to the ground.

Lee seemed relieved at the explanation that somewhat stunned those who had been badgering the neko-jin, all feeling somewhat guilty about prying into something private. "He's still trying to get his head around it a bit."

Hilary glanced between the girls, all of whom seemed satisfied at the explanation, although the brunette still had something gnawing at the back of her mind. Looking between the teams, her mind clicked onto what was bothering her. "I suppose that just leaves the Blitzkrieg Boys then."

The comment stunned everyone momentarily before attention turned to the Russians, who were already either inspecting their blades or glaring at the brunette. "She has a point; you guys are always punctual and then you called the day before you were meant to arrive saying you'd be a few days late." Kenny agreed, earning himself an annoyed glare from Tala.

"So why were you guys late?" Tyson finished, gaze focused on the ruby eyed male.

The redhead glanced between his teammates briefly before answering. "Since we got rid of Boris and took over responsibility of the students in the abbey, we've been trying to find out what happened to some of them that….disappeared."

"A search came up with a possible match on the last one we've been looking for." Kai finished, gaze flicking around the group. "We had to check it out before we left Russia."

Satisfied, the group let the matter drop, although it seemed the girls were still bothered by something; a fact that didn't go unnoticed by the siblings of two of the group. Sighing, Raul headed over to Lee, both males fixing their gazes on their sisters.

"There's something else they're thinking about, isn't there?" the neko-jin asked quietly, the redhead nodding in agreement.

The girls had huddled together and were discussing something, the pair of siblings were eyeing them cautiously and the remainder of the group had gone back to normal training. "Do you think they're going to bring whatever it is up now?" Raul asked curiously, and the duo looked at one another.

It was already sunset and several members of the group were heading inside to start on dinner. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow."

* * *

Dinner proceeded without an issue, and whatever was still bothering the girls was a mystery to the remainder of the bladers. Tala however had his suspicions, and when they finally headed to bed, he asked the remainder of the team to stay awake to talk about the issues at hand. Daichi's snoring soon chorused through the halls, and the redheaded Russian let out a sigh, turning to his team.

"_So Tori's blading prowess hasn't diminished any." _He stated, looking at the rest of the team. _"So what exactly happened in that battle Max had against whats-his-name, Bryan?"_

The lavender haired male shrugged. _"Max held his own, they traded hits back and forth, Draciel used his Gravity Control and…actually that was the weird thing. Blackbird used his own move and it seemed to completely cancel Max's. Then he used another attack circled Draciel closer and closer until it destroyed his blade." _The information hadn't been shared with the rest of the group, largely because the Russians didn't see the point in giving all the rough details to the bladers.

"_No wonder Max was so stunned." _Kai mumbled, looking at his own blade. _"When you call out your bitbeast to attack, or in Max's case defend, and their ability does absolutely nothing it's hard to deal with."_

Spencer and Ian sat quietly listening to the details, before the blonde finally spoke up. _"It sounds like the first ability was probably another defensive ability; Gravity Control works by stopping the enemy from attacking you and damages them in the process. You create a defence that stops that damage…"_

"_And all you have to do is wait for Draciel to stop spinning." _Ian finished, sighing. _"That's a hell of a way to do things."_

"_Well the girls have already been thinking about why Max and the others were challenged; I think they're attempting to find out what 'lesson' this guy wants them all to learn." _Tala stated, earning himself a few raised eyebrows. _"They couldn't figure out what was different about Miguel, so I told them he might've been challenged because he doesn't trust his bitbeast."_

The team seemed happy with the explanation, and the room returned to a momentary silence. _"Do you think Tori left that box behind on purpose today?" _Ian wondered, looking between the taller members of the team.

"_Everything she's done so far has been deliberate, so based on that I'd say yes." _Bryan stated, curling up beneath his blankets. _"But she looked exhausted; it's entirely possible it was a mistake."_

"_If it had been deliberate she would've given some indication as to who she wanted to return it to her." _Kai agreed, lying down. _"And you're right, she did seem tired, even compared to back then."_

"_I just wish she'd answered more of our questions; hell she wouldn't even say why she hasn't tried to get away from those guards of hers."_ Tala agreed. _"We should get some sleep; I doubt the girls will avoid bringing up the issue with Blackbird tomorrow."_

* * *

"_So Ray, what did she say?" _Lee asked excitedly, for once ignoring the murmurings from the other rooms.

The other neko-jin let out a sigh, trying to make sure the rest of the team remained asleep. _"Not much; her bitbeast is the only thing she has from her parents, whom she's pretty sure are dead. I didn't want to pry anymore on the matter; it seemed like a sore subject for her."_

"_You didn't tell her?" _Lee frowned, pointedly ignoring Ray's attempts at sleep.

"_What would you have me say, Lee? 'My bitbeast recognised yours because they're brothers, oh and you're my sister'? Yes that would've gone down swimmingly I'm sure." _Ray rolled his eyes. _"When you can think of a way of phrasing it that doesn't make me sound insane, let me know. Now goodnight Lee."_

"_But-"_

"_I said goodnight."_

Muttering under his breath, the dark haired neko-jin surrendered and burrowed down into his blankets to sleep, quietly wondering how he could tell the female what the pair suspected.

* * *

The next day was bright and sunny, the bladers had gathered in the back yard as they normally did before training, devouring the last parts of breakfast. The girls had been discussing something

"Guys, we need to discuss the problem with this Blackbird guy." She stated, moving to stand in the middle of the yard. "We all know Mystel, Miguel, Max, Brooklyn, Rick, Brooklyn and Oliver were all challenged by him and left with the message 'you have a lesson to learn, right?"

"So we spent part of the morning trying to figure out why the six of you were challenged, and maybe that will lead us to what it is you need to learn." Mariah finished, earning a nod from the other females.

Rick snorted in disbelief, looking at the girls. "You expect me to believe this guy is more than just some psycho who likes challenging bladers and destroying their blades?"

"Exactly Rick. Like we think you were challenged because you use brute force to try and win all of your battles." Emily stated, typing a few things into her laptop before turning it around. A montage of Ricks past battles played across the screen, with the familiar yellow blade pushing opponents from the arena one after another. "If brute force doesn't work, you call out Rock Bison and use more power."

"Mystel relies on his agility to dodge attacks and take down his opponents, while Brooklyn's always been able to tell the outcome of a battle and relied on his natural skill." Ming Ming continued, glad to see the males were listening.

"Max is well known as the best defensive blader." Ray finished for them, looking over at the two Europeans who hadn't been included yet. "What about Oliver and Miguel then?"

"Oliver is really good at a lot of things, so we think he was probably challenged because he doesn't focus on a single talent, but rather multiple ones." Hilary smiled, glancing over at the Russians. "Tala gave us Miguel's; he doesn't seem to trust his bitbeast."

"So we know why we were challenged…what are we meant to have learnt from it?" Mystel asked, looking at the girls. "I mean Miguel's is pretty obvious; "trust your bitbeast", but what am I meant to learn before he comes back and tries to destroy my blade again?"

"_You've had more than two weeks to think about it and you've only just found out why I battled you? I'm disappointed Mystel; I expected more." _The sudden statement made the group jump, looking for the source of the voice.

"_I take it you're trying to figure out where I am? Good luck with that one. I installed a speaker last night while you were all sleeping soundly, clearly completely unconcerned about actually figuring out what you're meant to be learning."_

The group sat in a stunned silence at the news, although it seemed to frustrate Rick further. "Coward! You can't even come and face us again can you?"

"_A pleasure to hear from you again too Rick; how is your method of blindly bashing into things going on solving this issue? It didn't work particularly well for you last time, the shredded remains of your beyblade proved that."_

The large American was growling, clearly annoyed by the statement, though he didn't have a chance to voice his disagreement as Miguel spoke up. "What do you really want?"

"_I thought that was obvious: to teach the six of you some very specific lessons."_

"What? Like I need to stop splitting my focus between everything I enjoy, Brooklyn needs to stop relying on his natural skill and Miguel needs to learn to trust his bitbeast?" the Frenchman questioned, frowning slightly. "Why not make all of our lessons that obvious?"

"_They can't have been that obvious if you needed someone else to tell you about them. I suggest you quit your whining; you've had much longer than poor Max to get over your blade being destroyed and figure out what you're meant to be learning."_

It took a few minutes for the words to sink in for most of the group, but the lavender haired Russian didn't need much time at all. "You're challenging them all again at the same time?"

"_Really, would any of you accept a second challenge from someone who destroyed your blade the first time? I doubt it. No, I'll be taking advantage of that little tournament you're all supposedly entering."_

"I take it there's a reason you're talking to us all now, rather than just picking us off one at a time?" Max asked, hoping to get something more useful from the mysterious blader.

"_Indeed. I thought you might be having some trouble figuring out what you're meant to be doing, so I thought I'd offer you a deal."_

Cautious glances passed around the group, none of the bladers wanting to respond to the disembodied voice. It sounded like a dangerous idea; making a deal with the male that had destroyed the blades of six world class beybladers, but there was a chance it could help them.

In the end the Russians opted to answer, Tala speaking up for the first time all morning. "What kind of deal?"

"_I want you all to play a game with me; a bit of a treasure hunt if you will. I set you a series of tasks or challenges, and for every three you complete I'll give you some more information on what each of you needs to learn. You pick what blader I give you details on."_

"That sounds like it might be helpful." Tyson stated, earning nods from several other bladers. Max, Mystel and Miguel seemed more cautious about the idea, glancing between one another as they tried to figure out what they weren't being told.

"What's the catch?" Julia asked, looking toward the tree they had decided the speaker was nested in.

"Yea; you challenged these guys to beyblades and the catch was you destroyed their blades when you won." The pink haired neko-jin agreed. "There's got to be more to your game than us doing some challenges to get information."

The silence seemed to echo around the yard, several of the group holding their breath without realising as they waited for the answer. _"Everyone has to participate; the tasks I give you might be for a specified individual, a person or group of your choice, the entire group or a select number of you. If you decide not to do a task, then you lose one chance to ask for information regarding one blader of my choice. There are three hints I can give you regarding what each blader needs to learn. I'll give you some time to decide."_

A metallic click sounded, and the group sat in relative silence, each individually thinking about what the mysterious male could possibly get them to do. "I say we go for it."

"Tyson!" the brunette was surprised by the blue haired male's lack of thought on the matter; glaring at the world champion. "We don't know what this guy is planning!"

A sigh from over by the Russian team caught her attention, and she found the slate haired Russian standing, walking toward them. "It's the best option we have to find out more about this guy and stop him from destroying their blades again."

Silence ensued as the group considered their opposing options; they had the opportunity to learn what each 'lesson' each of the six bladers had been given, but it meant putting all of them in danger. In the very least that's what it seemed to require, and none of the group concerned wanted to be responsible for the rest of the group losing their blades.

"_Decided?"_

"We need more time to think about it." Ray answered calmly, earning frowns, glares and sighs from the rest of the group. No one spoke up to contradict him however, and a slight chuckle sounded over the speakers.

"_Very well then; take all the time you need. I'll be waiting in the park until lunchtime with your first task. Make your choice carefully."_

The bladers sat in continuing silence, looking between each other for some way of deciding what they were going to do. The youngest of the blondes that had been challenged finally sighed, breaking their peace. "How about we take a vote on what to do? It's not like sitting here quietly is going to get us anywhere." Max stated, moving to stand by Hilary. "I'm biased on the matter; I want to know what this guy's problem is."

"A vote is probably the best way of deciding, but everyone has to agree to go with the majority decision." Kenny agreed, looking around the group. "This guy said we all have to participate."

"It's also probably best if Max, Miguel, Mystel, Brooklyn, Rick and Oliver don't vote." Emily agreed, a statement that seemed fair to all but the dark skinned American.

"Why the hell don't I get a vote?" Rick snarled at the girl, causing her to sigh.

"Because like Max, you have a biased opinion on this matter." The American girl stated, adjusting her glasses briefly. "The rest of us haven't encountered this guy before, and in the event we have to beyblade against him we're risking having our own blades destroyed. That might not bother you, Rick, but it's a pretty big deal to me and I doubt I'm the only one."

Coughing, the bespectacled brunet enacted a not-so-subtle change of subject. "So, does everyone agree with the decision of majority rules?" Receiving no objections, the male nodded. "Right then; I think the best way to do a vote is to have everyone shut their eyes, and Max can decide what we're raising our hands on."

At the suggestion Miguel and Mystel joined the younger blonde near the middle of the group. "We'll give you a hand with counting."

Nodding, the remainder of the group, save Brooklyn, Oliver and Rick, closed their eyes, waiting for the cheerful American blonde to voice his question. "All right…raise your hand if you're against the idea of taking up Blackbirds challenge."

The group against the idea was small; Mariah, Hilary, Raul, Lee, Ming Ming and Eddy being the only ones to raise their hands. After several minutes silence, those concerned lowered their hands. "Looks like we're going to the park to take on the challenges." Miguel stated firmly, the group reopening their eyes and looking around the group for some indication of who had or hadn't voted.

"We better get going then; it's not going to get any colder." The Russians had taken control as they normally did, or more specifically Kai had, the second shortest of the team heading back into the dojo. "Grab your stuff and put on some sensible shoes, we're going once everyone's out the front."

Several members of the group watched the phoenix blader's retreating back, including his own team, dumbfounded by the sudden order. Ray, Max and Daichi didn't give the instruction any thought and followed the slate haired teen inside, their teams quickly doing likewise. No one really felt like finding out how the stoic male had managed to wrangle his team into following orders first time they were given.

It didn't take long for the group to sort themselves, the mob of beybladers heading through the streets toward the park. The hum of conversation kept most of the group entertained, regardless of whether or not they were actually talking.

"So what did Kai do to get you guys to listen to him so easily?" The question had been on everyone's minds, but only one person was curious enough to actually voice the question. Or rather, only one of them was brave enough to go against the slate haired Russian: his lavender haired teammate. "I mean he looks scary but really he's a pussycat."

"Kuznetsov…" the warning growl went ignored, the older Russian looking rather pleased with himself.

The lavender haired male had managed to wedge himself between Ray and Max, much to the displeasure of Tyson but he ignored it, eagerly awaiting a response from one of the pair. The blonde and black haired males shared a brief glance, not really wanting to answer. At least that was the neko-jin's position.

"Tyson disagreed with him on the first day of training; it was snowing a little and we were meant to be running laps around the yard. Ray and I were heading to the door so we could go outside and make a start, when he stopped us." Max divulged; glad Kai was behind Ray meaning the older teen would need to go through his Russian teammate and the neko-jin to kill him. "Tyson stopped us and said it was barbaric to make us run in the snow."

"Max…"

"Kai didn't say anything." Ray continued. "He just chucked Tyson over one shoulder, carried him outside and chucked him into the snow before sitting on his back. Max and I didn't know what to do but he glared at us, so we started running."

"Tyson was soaked and cold by the time we finished running; Kai actually carried him back inside and dropped him in the bathroom, telling him to have a shower and warm up." Max finished, unsurprised by the amused grin on Bryan's lips. "He only did it once."

"Is that all? Hell I thought maybe he'd stripped him down to his boxers, tied him out in the sun and left him there for an hour." The Russian laughed, earning a small groan from the smallest of the Russians.

"I only did that once!" Kai defended, glaring at his teammate, earning a wolfish smirk from Tala.

"True. When you tied me out it was snowing." The redhead stated, earning himself a glare.

"That was revenge for you locking me outside during a _blizzard!"_

"…are they always like that?" Julia asked cautiously, looking up at the tall blonde teammate who had wisely stayed out of the conversation.

"No. Normally they're worse."


	8. Cryptic Clues

**Tai: **Okay, there's two things I need to mention. Firstly, I may have miscounted how many beybladers I'm dealing with total; you'll see an asterisk on the first time I actually mention a number. I made a list of bladers 3 times, and came out with the same number each time, which happens to be the same one as in chapter 1. If it's wrong, please flick me a review and let me know.

Secondly; I made an error in my note at the start of last chapter; there is currently one pairing which I mildly forgot about during the last couple of chapters. Chapter 4 I paired Enrique off with Julia when the girls surrounded him for an interrogation, and sort of forgot about that…so apologies Tau, but Kai/Julia won't be happening. I'll see what I can do about the others though ;)

Other than that, I don't think there's anything else….except went through the first few chapters and re-added the scene breaks. Apparently some change happened with and it sort of removed how I'd previously done them. In the more recent chapters they're the more obvious lines (like the one below), in the early chapters I used a series of dashes. Hopefully I got them all :P

* * *

**Chapter 8: Cryptic Clues**

Despite the arguing it didn't take too long for the group to arrive at the park, Bryan, Max and Ray leading the pack. The blonde's eyes went wide at the sight in front of him and the lavender haired male placed a firm hand on the younger man's shoulder, gently pushing himself forward. "Easy Max; he's already sort of told us what he wanted with you. We knew he'd be here." The Russian mumbled quietly, though it didn't seem to help his nerves any.

Black clad and helmeted figured didn't move until he was surrounded by the bladers, all of whom seemed to be experiencing different emotions at the sight of the male. Although several members of the group frequented the area, none had seen the large beydish in front of them before.

"Glad you could all make it; I would've been disappointed if you decided not to come and take on my challenge." He stated, and the tone indicated that beneath the helmet the male was likely grinning. "I'll start you off on an easy challenge or two. Firstly –"

"Hold on!" Tyson interrupted, glaring at the figure. "Why are you challenging my friends and destroying their blades? What, don't have the guts to take me on?"

"Tyson!"

The figure sighed. "Do you want to help your friends, mister world champion, or stand there and ask pointless questions?" Silence was the only answer the masked male received, and he continued where he'd been interrupted. "As I was saying, I'm sure you can all see the beydish in front of you; there is another almost identical one somewhere within the park. The thing that stops them being identical is that inside the second is a block of wood which contains a beyblade. Your task is to bring me back that blade."

"That's it?" Ray asked cautiously, a murmur flowing through the group.

"That's it for your first task, yes; unless of course you'd like me to make it more difficult?"

It was all the prompting the group required as they sprinted off in different directions, save for the Russian teens that stood silently staring at the black clad male. The team had noticed the lavender haired male's firm stance, and had stayed with the group. The Russians knew something was up with their teammate, and they wanted to know what.

It was several minutes before the others had cleared the area completely, and the five moved forward to closely surround the black clad male.

"It is you isn't it Tori?" Bryan questioned, dark eyes fixed on the figure. "I watched your match against Max; I've only seen one blade destroy like that and I doubt some amateur just randomly figured it out."

"Your point?"

"Bryan why the hell didn't you tell us?" Kai hissed, glaring at the male. The question was ignored as the lavender haired male stepped closer.

"Whatever you're planning you need to stop; I know what Boris-"

"Boris, Voltaire and the abbey have nothing to do with what I'm doing. Now, shouldn't the five of you be _helping_?" the masked figure replied, settling onto the ground. "I'll also suggest you keep your traps _shut_ about that little piece of information, unless you want your friends' bitbeasts destroyed next time I battle them."

Tala growled at the comment and dragged the lavender haired Russian away; it had already become obvious that the vicious male wasn't going to let it drop, and the consequences would be enormous. It didn't take long for the slate haired male and blonde to follow suit, heading off in a different direction to help with the search. The youngest of the group stayed behind however, staring at their old friend.

"We've been looking for you for years, Tori. Why were you hiding?" Ian asked quietly.

He received a sigh before the girl reached up, pressing something he couldn't see. "Sometimes things don't want to be found." Her hand dropped back to her lap, and the mechanised voice returned. "Get going."

The violet haired male sighed and ran off in the direction he'd seem Kevin and Daichi go in. With 34* beybladers roaming the park it wouldn't take long for someone to locate their destination.

* * *

"This challenge cannot be as simple as it sounds." Garland muttered, earning a nod from Brooklyn, who'd accompanied him as he'd headed to the northern part of the park.

The ex-BEGA duo had stopped running as soon as they'd entered the trees; there wasn't really enough space to run through without crashing into something solid. The redheaded teen stopped suddenly, glancing behind them. "It might be a challenge that is exactly how it sounds; correct me if I'm wrong, but he said we're looking for a beydish that looks _exactly _like the one in front of him, save for the block of wood in the middle?"

The tanned male stopped at the question, staring at the male. The thought took a few moments for the silver haired teen to process, but it finally went through. "You think there's more than one dish that size with a block of wood in it somewhere in the area?"

Shouts of triumph echoed around the park from two directions, and the green eyed male sighed, turning back to where they'd come from. "I'd say there definitely is. What colour was that dish?"

* * *

"This has to be it!" Tyson stated happily, his gaze fixed on a large beydish with a solid block of wood in the middle.

"I dunno…wouldn't it be too easy for us to be able to just stumble around blindly and find a beydish with a block of wood in the middle?" Eddy questioned, looking to Crusher for support.

The larger male nodded, stepping up to the dish. "It would; we're dealing with a guy that managed to pick some of us out one at a time and destroy their blades without anyone else knowing, but then he _did _say it was an easy challenge."

"Well there's only one way to find out if we're in the right place!" the world champion chirped, bringing out his blade and launching it at the block. "Go Dragoon!"

* * *

"It sounds like Tyson's found it." Max stated, turning in the direction the shout had come from.

"He can't have Max, its right here." Enrique stated, pointing just ahead of the group. He and Johnny were leading the way through the trees, why the American wasn't sure, while Max and Mariah wandered along behind them.

The pink haired girl shook her head. "That doesn't make sense; Tyson wouldn't have yelled out that happily if he hadn't found it…unless he found somewhere giving away free food."

* * *

"It looks the same Ray! And it has the block of wood in the middle!" Mystel argued, glaring at the male who had been accompanied him.

The neko-jin shook his head defiantly, clearly unhappy with the statement. "No it doesn't Mystel; the one he was standing in front of was green, this one is blue."

"You're just being picky about colour?" a silvery haired male asked, somewhat stunned. "You said yourself this beydish is a new addition to the park-"

"And Blackbird said the one we're looking for is identical to the one in front of him. That one was blue, this one isn't, therefore the blade isn't in that block of wood. Now we're wasting time." The raven haired male didn't wait for the pair to continue their argument, already disappearing into the trees.

The pale European looked at the Egyptian, sighing as they followed Ray through the trees. "You battled that guy; would he really put half a dozen of these things around the park just to throw us off?"

"He would; throwing me off seemed like his entire purpose when we battled, right up until he fought back and destroyed my blade. I built a new one but…" Mystel sighed, shaking his head. "It messes with you; coming that close to losing your bitbeast…"

Claud nodded at the idea, looking at his own blade briefly. "It would; I don't know what I'd do without Rapid Eagle." The trio continued their trek through the trees for several more minutes, and it was quickly becoming obvious they were nearing the edge of the park. Stopping, Claude sighed, "Are we sure it wasn't the one back there?"

"Found it!"

The sudden shout made both males jump and they turned to find Ray standing in front of another beydish, barely within the confines of the park. Claude moved closer to inspect the dish, and the object in the middle caught his attention more than the previous one. "The wood in this one doesn't look as solid…"

"Are you sure about this, Ray?"

The neko-jin had already pulled out his blade, and he nodded. "I'm positive. Go Drigger!" The grey-white beyblade landed in the dish and began circling the block, the amber eyed male watching his companions closely. "Are you two going to help me or not?"

Sighing the pair launched their own blades into the dish and joined in the circling, the three males debating the best method for doing what they needed to. "Why don't we try hitting it, and see what happens?" the blonde suggested, earning shrugs from the other two.

They nodded at the suggestion, and all three blades moved synchronously to strike the block, surprised when the seemingly solid object followed the movement in, and then reflexively pressed back out. With the block separated into four pieces, an otherwise plan looking black beyblade sat exposed in the dish, the European blader picking it up as he collected his own blade. "I guess this is it."

Staring at the blade for several minutes, Mystel finally sighed and started heading back the way they'd come. "Come on, we better-"

"The top looks weird."

Ray's sudden comment made both males stare in wonder at him, seemingly perplexed by the statement. The black haired male sighed at their silence, pulling out his own blade for comparison. "See here where my launcher clips in? Your blades will have almost the same spots, but this one doesn't have them."

"Maybe it's not a beyblade for battling?" Claude suggested, though the blade was soon removed from his hand, the blonde looking at it curiously.

"No, it's one for battling; I thought his launcher looked a bit weird when I went against him back in Egypt." The male stated, looking at it closely. "But this blade would explain it. In any case we need to go and give this to him."

In agreement over what they needed to do, the trio headed back through the trees to the middle of the park, the black clad male lounging on the grass closest to them. They were somewhat surprised to see Brooklyn and Garland settled nearby, watching the male.

"Why are you guys back so soon?" Claude questioned, looking at the pair.

"Brooklyn was pondering what Blackbird said about the two dishes being identical when we heard a couple of shouts of excitement." Garland explained, stretching slightly. "So we came back to check what colour that dish was, and he told us we might as well stay. Why are you guys back?"

In response the European held up the blade they'd retrieved, which received a nod from the black clad male laying on the grass. "Excellent. I suppose I _should _call the others back, but then I'd have thirty-something bladers to deal with, and this next task only requires _one." _The male stated, although he still hadn't moved. "I'll let you decide; I can call them back and pick who completes the next task, or we leave them to it and the five of you can decide between yourselves who gets to complete it."

The newly arrived trio wandered over and dropped onto the grass next to Brooklyn and Garland, the group all clearly debating the options. Not a word passed between them before the redhead piped up. "So, what's the next challenge?"

"Excellent! It's another fairly simple one; you just have to best me in a match. The beyblade you're currently holding is the one I'll be using; no changes of any sort, just what you're holding in your hand." He smirked, standing up and walking over to the group, holding a hand out for the black blade. "Obviously that means I'm not using my bitbeast even a little. Take your time in deciding who I'm going against; your friends will be a while yet."

* * *

"Argh! Come on, I didn't think it'd be this hard to get through a block of _wood! _I make scratches in the deck posts at home easier than this thing!" Tyson yelled, frustrated that they were barely making a mark in the block.

"So much for an easy challenge." Eddy agreed, dropping to the ground with a sigh.

* * *

"Come on! Why won't this thing break?" Rick growled, launching his blade at the block for the umpteenth time.

A black haired neko-jin settled in a tree let out his similarly numbered sigh, shaking his head. "Because as I've been saying _since we got here_ I don't think this is the right place."

"I'm starting to agree with Lee; maybe we should go and see if some of the others are having better luck?" a timid pink haired girl stated, inwardly wishing she could hide behind said male.

"If you insist on continuing to beat your head against that block, you will be doing it alone." Robert agreed, settling himself away from the stadium. "This pointless task is serving no other purpose than damaging my beyblade."

* * *

"So we're down to either me or Garland?" the black haired male confirmed, earning a nod from the tanned male. Turning his attention to the black clad male, he frowned slightly. "Do we only get one shot a completing your challenges?"

"No; if one of you tries and fails first time, they can have another go. Or you could pick someone else to have a go instead. You wouldn't have that luxury if you'd called back the rest." Blackbird stated, sitting and watching the group curiously.

"You can give it a shot first then; if you don't manage to beat him, I'll give it a shot." Ray decided, earning a nod from the silver haired male.

"Right, let's do this."

* * *

Panting, sweating and his hands bloodied, the lavender haired Russian dropped to the ground, frustrated by the fact his suspicions had been confirmed. "How could she?"

"She was always stubborn." The redhead stated, leaning against a tree as he watched his usually emotionless teammate. "We just need to keep an eye on things and make sure she's not doing what they trained her for."

"I should've stopped her; the second I recognised her moves in the battle against Max I should've stepped in." Bryan muttered, ignoring the sting of his hands. "Max didn't deserve that…"

"Whatever she's doing Bryan, if it's a threat to beyblading we'll stop her." Kai assured him, slipping through the trees and placing a hand on the older male's shoulder. "We won't let Boris win."

The blonde male of the team dropped down in front of the male, sighing as he looked over the male's hands. "In the meantime, stop attacking trees; we're still training with everyone else."

* * *

The black blade stopped spinning outside of the stadium and the silver haired male received a nod from his opponent, who walked forward without a care for the blade, crushing it underfoot. "Good; that's two down, nineteen left to go if you want to know everything. Time to call back everyone else, I believe." The black clad male pressed a button on his arm, and somewhere within the trees a call telling them to return echoed.

The group barely heard it however; their gazes were fixed on the crushed remains of the blade three of them had retrieved. It didn't take long for the group of nearly thirty to re-emerge from the trees, most clearly confused as to why they'd been recalled. "Time for your third challenge."

"But we didn't finish the first one!" Hilary stated, clearly panicked. "And what about our second one?"

"Garland, Brooklyn, Ray, Claude and Mystel completed the first two for you. Moving on, your third challenge requires a group of five, and none of the group I just mentioned can participate." The black clad male stated, looking over the group. "I'll let you pick otherwise, and while those five are away doing one challenge, the rest will be doing another.

"I've hidden five bags of gear within the BBA building. Whoever you send needs to locate them and bring them back within the next hour and a half. Pick your five, and once you're ready I'll start timing. The remainder will be split into groups of three and given a different task." The teens were almost certain that beneath the helmet the male was smiling, as both Garland and Mystel muttered about being excluded from the group going to the BBA. "I'll give you a moment to discuss it between yourselves."

Kenny was already settled onto the grass typing away on Dizzy, while Emily sat next to him watching the screen closely. "It'll take an hour and a half to walk there and back; never mind trying to search the entire building to find those bags." The brunet stated, earning a nod from the girl next to him.

"Then we'll have to run." Lee stated simply, "Even then it'll probably be best to have the fastest out of all of us going."

The lavender haired Russian moved to stand alongside the black haired neko-jin. "We can't risk sending all the members of a single team; if there's anything involving languages while we're gone, we'd be screwed."

The bespectacled pair nodded in agreement at the two statements, while quietly discussing the options on who to send. The remainder of the group was doing likewise, although not as quietly as the seated pair, until the duo stood and regained their attention.

"From what we can tell, the best group to send in this situation, given that Ray, Mystel and Garland are all out as options, is Lee, Bryan, Eddy, Johnny and Miguel." The orange haired woman stated, glad that no one interrupted to complain about the selection of bladers. "Any other combination sends more than one person from each team, which could be detrimental in whatever we have to do here."

The world champion seemed ready to argue, but glares from varying members of the group silenced his objections, and the aforementioned five grouped together to discuss their plan of attack once they reached their destination.

"Sorted?" Blackbird questioned, watching the quintet carefully. A swarm of nods went through the group, a motion that was returned by their instructor for the day. "Good; time starts now." The group didn't need any further prompting as they took off out of the park, their backs soon disappearing from sight.

"Well, now that they're gone, let's see what we can do. Of course, twenty-nine doesn't really divide into three cleanly, we'll start off with eight groups of three." Blackbird stated, attention fully on the group. "So…Ian, Daichi and Kevin will be group one; Spencer, Rick and Tyson will be group two; Tala, Mariah and Ming Ming will be our third group. Group four; Garland, Gary and Robert, Group five; Oliver, Emily and Kenny, Group six; Kai, Mystel and Raul, Group seven; Crusher, Claude and Hilary. Finally group eight can be Erin, Ray and Michael."

The twenty four bladers who'd been listed off reorganised themselves into their groups, Ray frowning slightly as he spotted a rather predatory grin on the redheaded Russian's face. The remaining five stood looking at one another, all clearly trying to figure out what they were meant to do.

"Right…so five left; Matilda, Max, Julia, Enrique and Brooklyn…" the black clad male stood looking at the group silently, though clearly the group couldn't see where his attention was focused. "Matilda and Julia will be group nine, Max, Enrique and Brooklyn will be group ten."

The girls paired up, and the group stood waiting for their instructions. "Excellent; now make sure you remember your group numbers; odd numbered groups need to head east, even numbered head west. In each of those quarters, you need to locate a bag with your group's number on it. Inside each bag will be a camera, a notepad, three pens and a sheet of instructions for you to follow. There's no time limit on your tasks, but I would suggest you get going."

"Before we go; how many tasks are we doing, in the grand scheme of things?" Garland questioned, watching the black clad figure. "Is everything considered a single task?"

"No; all of you locating your respective lots of gear is one task; from then on each of your ten groups will be completing tasks individually. Assuming everything is completed; by the time you get back here at least fourteen challenges will be finished." Blackbird stated, turning his back on the group. "Of course, assumptions are a bad thing. Let's see what happens."

They didn't require any further encouragement on the matter as the group split up, heading to opposite ends of the park while their puppet master settled into the shade of a tree. 'Oh this will be fun.'


End file.
